It Happened One Rainy Night
by queenybee
Summary: It's never clear what happened between Rick and Lisa that rainy night so here is my take on it and what happened afterwards. Hope you like it. Some events from the series removed in order to make this work, it's a work in progress so updates may be slow in coming.
1. Chapter 1

Lisa looked at the odd shaped wand in her hand in disbelief as she sat on the edge of her bathtub. The digital readout clearly displayed the word "Pregnant" and Lisa knew that shaking the test in her hand or taking another test was not going to change the results. She had known when she bought the test that the symptoms she had been experiencing lately weren't usual and the pregnancy test was just to confirm her suspicions. Now that it was a reality, and not just a possibility, well there was just so much more to think about. Lisa overwhelmed with the decisions she was facing, wrapped her arms around her stomach and for the first time in many years, cried like she never did before. The pregnancy couldn't have come at a worse time in Lisa's life.

This past Christmas and New Year had been a nightmare for her as the reality set in that Rick and Minmei were once again together. Although they tried to hide it for a few days, the tabloid news journalists quickly sussed out where their favorite singing star had been hiding since Christmas Eve and Rick and Minmei made their debut as a couple at the New Macross New Year Eve's ball. While devastating to Lisa, at least it was better than having them attend the New Year's Eve party that Sammie, Vanessa and Kim had organized on the base. Lisa who had already known about Rick and Minmei, decided to hold her head up high and attend the ball on base, even though all she wanted to do was hide in her room. Claudia had been proud of her when she said she somewhat defiantly that she would attend, and dressed to the nines in a black cocktail dress with plunging back. Although Lisa did receive a few looks of pity from some of the attendees, on the most part, everyone thought that Lisa looked quite well and that maybe the rumors of her infatuation with Rick were overrated.

From the attention Lisa received from some of the other officers and pilots, Lisa knew that she looked good, even though Lisa felt like she was going to scream at any moment. The nauseous feeling she had been having on and off had threatened to return and the seafood buffet was quite unappetizing to her. Max and Miriya and Claudia stayed close to her for most of the night and once she almost starting crying when during a dance with Max, he said that he thought that his friend was a fool.

It wasn't until after the New Year's Eve party and things were settling back down, that Lisa realized that she had missed her period and that the nauseous feeling she had been experiencing wasn't going away. She counted back the weeks on her hand and realized that it had been about six weeks since her last period and that rainy night with Rick. That's when she bought the pregnancy test and confirmed her fears.

Hiccuping and wiping up her tears, Lisa looked in the mirror and didn't like what she saw. Her green eyes were red and tired looking and her skin blotchy. Her long brown hair was in a messy knot on her head and even Lisa admitted she wasn't looking her best. She decided right then and there that she wasn't going to wallow any longer in her misery, that is was time to move on and be an adult with all that has happened to her. She rubbed her belly and said softly, "Well little one, it's just going to be you and me, but I promise that I will do my best by you." That day, for the first time ever, Lisa called in to the base and let them know she wasn't coming in. Her second call was into the base hospital to make an appointment with her gynecologist and OBGYN. Lisa spent the rest of the day cleaning her small place, buying groceries determined to eat healthier and not skip meals and generally mentally preparing herself for the time she had to tell Rick Hunter that he whether he like it or not, was going to be a dad.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Lisa arrived on base earlier than normally to meet with her gynecologist who also happened to be an OBGYN. Dr. Emma Wu had been Lisa's doctor since she joined the SDF-1 and was surprised to see Lisa as her first appointment. Dr. Wu admired the young Captain and knew how much she put into her work and was curious to see her today as Lisa had her last appointment with her not over three months ago.

After exchanging greetings and inviting Lisa to sit before they started the physical appointment, she asked "Well Capt. Hayes, what can I do for you today?"

Lisa steeled herself and looked at the Dr. and said bluntly, "I think I'm pregnant."

Although surprised by Lisa's statement, Dr. Wu could sense Lisa's own vulnerability and softened her voice and asked Lisa a series of standard questions in which Lisa answered back in a calm manner. "Well from what you've told me you do show all the signs of pregnancy. I'm going to have a nurse come and in take a blood sample and I'm also going to ask that we get a urine sample from you. Can you do that? Once we've confirmed your condition, we can talk about next steps."

Lisa felt comforted by Dr. Wu's calm demeanor and waited for the nurse to come in to take her blood. Lisa provided the samples required and was ushered back into Dr. Wu's office after the test results were in. As Lisa sat down again, Dr. Wu looked at Lisa and smiled. "Well Captain Hayes, it looks like you are indeed pregnant. Before we move forward, do you have any questions?" Lisa shook her head no and Dr. Wu looked at Lisa and said, "Can I assume that you want this child, Captain because if.."

"Oh no, you don't need to go further, yes this child is much wanted,"said Lisa placing a protective hand over her stomach.

"Good, unfortunately sometimes that question is a lot harder to answer for some. Well then, let's move forward. I'd like to schedule for an ultrasound in another two weeks so we can get the fetus's measurements and in the meantime, I'm going to give you a prescription for a prenatal vitamin, please have it filled immediately and start taking them once a day." Lisa listened attentively to Dr. Wu, who gave her a list of dos and don'ts and Lisa felt much better after talking to the doctor about how she's been feeling and her concerns. Dr. Wu, a bit worried about Lisa's emotional state, especially when they discussed whether the father would be involved in her pregnancy, gave Lisa some advice. "Stress and worrying is not going to be good for the baby's health or your health, Captain. Make sure you have a good support system in place, if the father is not available. Try not to let things bother you right now and just focus on yourself and the baby. You two are the only ones that matter in this right now." After a few more minutes of discussion and as Lisa was leaving the office, Dr. Wu hugged Lisa, smiled and said, "Don't worry Captain, everything will be fine."

Feeling better after the visit to the doctor and scheduling her ultrasound, Lisa headed into her office and onto the bridge where the day's missions were to begin. She winced a bit when she realized that the Skull Squadron was on deck to take off but resigned herself to do her job. She knew she could no longer foist those duties on to Sammie and she knew she had to stop running away and face her demons. She straightened out her uniform and put her headset on and opened up communications on the TacNet to the Skull leader. Everyone on the bridge and the TacNet was waiting for this moment as Lisa had been avoiding dealing or communicating with the Skull Leader since the last fallout where Rick had asked Lisa to go on a picnic with him and then stood her up to meet with Minmei. Everyone also knew that Rick and Minmei were together and couldn't wait to see the fireworks go off between the two captains.

"Skull Leader this is Delta-1, come in"

Rick was both a bit scared and happy to hear Lisa's voice over the TacNet. He switched on visual communications between his fighter and the bridge and was relieved to see Lisa looking like her normal self on the screen. They hadn't talked since his confrontation with her on the Prometheus deck Christmas Day when he yelled at her for not calling him in when Khyron attacked and prior to that Lisa had been mad at him and not talking to him for his standing her up for the picnic he had planned. He knew he'd been an ass to her and didn't know how to make it up to her. He didn't want to admit it but he'd missed her fiercely these last few weeks and wished that he could turn back time and make it up to her. Rick also didn't know what to do with these conflicting feelings he had for her and for Minmei, his long time crush, who was now staying with him. What everyone didn't know was that Rick had another reason for feeling guilty about his actions and behavior the last couple of weeks and what he wanted more than anything was for Lisa to forgive him.

Rick responded to Lisa on the TacNet and decided to test the waters, "Delta-1, this is Skull One...um it looks like a beautiful day for a flight."

Lisa just ignoring the comment, just looked at Rick in the eyes and provided him his orders for the day, to head towards the southwest quadrant and see if there was any movement or indication of Khyron's whereabouts. She was about to sign off communications when she inwardly signed, knowing she had to start being a bit more friendly to him in order to tell him her news. She ended the signoff with a "Good luck and speedy return, Hunter."

As the Skull Squadron took to the sky, Rick smiled to himself. It looked like Lisa was thawing towards him and for him that was a good day. Rick returned that night to the base with no new news of Khyron and chatted with Max a bit in the locker room. Rick noticed that Max didn't ask about Minmei, like the other pilots had and knew it was because Max didn't feel that Minmei was the right one for him. Max had one time pointed out that Minmei was never really there for him and that maybe he was attentions to the wrong person. He didn't straight out say that he thought Rick should be with Lisa but never failed to point out Lisa's good points. As for Miriya, she was pretty disgusted with Rick and kept her distance from him, communicating with him only during flights. Rick tried to explain to Miriya once that if Lisa hadn't been so stubborn and refused to talk to him and let him apologize in the first place, that things probably wouldn't have reached this point. She was so angry with his comment that Max had to restrain Miriya from punching Rick in the face. After the day's patrol, Rick hoped to get a chance to try and talk to Lisa but when he tried to reach her at her office, he was told that she had retired for the day, which he thought was odd as he had never knew Lisa to not work late.

Rick actually dreaded going back to his small home, while it sounded glamorous and exciting to be living with Minmei, the reality was much different. While the first two weeks of being with Minmei felt like a dream come true especially during the usually lonely holiday season, there was something missing from the relationship that he couldn't put his finger on. Minmei had willingly fulfilled his sexual desires and while that part of the relationship was enjoyable, there was something surreal to their encounters and sometimes Rick felt he was performing in a movie with her. Being with her just didn't feel as right as he though it would but didn't really know how to talk to Minmei about what he was feeling or why he was feeling that way. Knowing how unsure he felt, he didn't feel it was right to continue a physical relationship with her and refrained from continuing citing his new schedule as contributing to his tiredness. Minmei didn't really question his lack of attention to her in that manner and was a bit relieved for as much as she liked Rick his lovemaking lacked a certain creativeness that she had with other partners.

As for Minmei, although she had turned to Rick initially because she had know where to go, she quickly realized that he was her best option until she figured out what she wanted to do. While playing house with Rick was fun, she also had gotten used to living a certain lifestyle and didn't enjoy living in his pokey little military house. She had recently suggested that Rick consider leaving the military and finding a position in the private sector where he could make more money, but he didn't really give her an answer except to say that he would think about it. Rick, when asked the question, didn't know how to respond as deep down in his heart he knew that leaving the RDF was not something he wanted to do. Rick left the base that night, wishing he could turn back time and start the last couple weeks of his life over and wondered how things got so screwed up so fast.


	3. Chapter 3

It was mid-afternoon the next day when Lisa had a chance to speak with Claudia and Admiral Gloval about her condition. They had just finished a briefing when Lisa asked them to stay back as she had something she wanted to talk to them about. Claudia and the Admiral sat back down and looked at each other, wondering if Lisa had reached her breaking point. The Admiral was well aware of the gossip going on around the two Captains and pulled out his pipe. "Could I ask you not to smoke that sir," asked Lisa. Gloval was surprised at the request as Lisa never seem to care whether he smoked his pipe on the bridge or in meetings. Lisa smiled at him weakly and rushed on, "you see, uh, it's not good for the baby..." and placed a hand over her belly. Claudia was the first to recover and jumped up from her seat and rushed to her friend. "Lisa, honey, are you telling us that you're going to have a baby?"

"Yes, Claudia, I am, and that is why I wanted to talk to you and Admiral Gloval. I don't think I can do this alone and I want to know if you will help me and support me?" said Lisa tearing up. Admiral Gloval played with his pipe before quietly asking, "Can I assume that I know who the father is?" Lisa nodded her head imperceptibly and Lisa and Claudia cringed at the roar of anger that came from the Admiral. He got up and stalked towards the door in a fit of anger but Claudia and Lisa stopped him. "Admiral Gloval, please!" cried Lisa and hearing her anguished cry, he stopped and sat back down. "Sir, I haven't told him yet..."

"Do you plan to tell him?" asked Claudia.

"What? Well yes, I was planning to." replied Lisa. Lisa looked down at her hands, and said, "No, I don't expect that to change anything, I've accepted the fact that him and Minmei are together, and while he may be the father with some rights, I'm going to do my best to raise this baby as best as I can, and I hope I can count on you two for help"

Gloval got up again from his seat and walked to the window looking, wishing at the moment he could puff on his pipe or have a shot of vodka. He turned to the woman that was so much like a daughter to him and pulled her into his embrace. "I guess this means I am going to be a grandpa." Lisa laughed and cried at the same time as she hugged Admiral back. The three sat back down around the table and Lisa told them about her visit to the doctor and her own plans. The Admiral and Claudia both agreed that Lisa should take it easier and possibly be reassigned to different projects during the course of her pregnancy. Admiral Gloval assured Lisa that he had no plans to replace her as First Officer and that she should concentrate on having a happy, healthy baby. After receiving their assurances that they would help Lisa during her pregnancy, Lisa left knowing that she still had to inform Rick of the news. That was going to be a bit more difficult and she wasn't sure if she could do it without breaking down.

Admiral Gloval waited until Lisa had left the room and the door closed before pulling out his pipe and lighting it. He took a puff and said to Claudia, "We will need to monitor the situation Claudia... if Hunter becomes a problem, or upsets her too much, let me know..." The two sat in the room discussing the issue between Lisa and Rick and wondered what was going to happen next between them.

Over the next couple of days, it seemed that things between Lisa and Rick were getting better. She no longer avoided him when she ran into the officer's dining room and greeted him and Max on her own. During meetings, Lisa treated Rick as she did any other officer and while he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her on his own, he felt that Lisa was slowly starting to forgive him. He didn't realize it but he found himself watching her more often. He didn't know why she had a sudden change in heart towards him, but knew that as long as he was with Minmei, nothing would be the same between them. Rick started to noticed little changes about Lisa's behavior that he wouldn't have noticed, if they hadn't been so close before their latest blow up It started one morning during a meeting with the senior officials. Rick had gotten there earlier than normal hoping to get a chance to talk to Lisa for a few minutes before the meeting. She was normally early to these meetings enjoying a hot cup of coffee with lots of cream and sugar. They used to joke about how if the doctors ever drew her blood that it resemble more latte than blood. He was surprised when Lisa came into the meeting room, barely five minutes before the meeting was to start and instead of pouring a cup of coffee, Lisa make herself a cup of tea that she seemed to nurse through the whole meeting. Claudia's demeanor towards Lisa was very strange too, as she soon came in after Lisa, put her arm around her and whispered something in Lisa's ear. Lisa just nodded to Claudia and when Claudia noticed Rick watching them, she gave him a dirty look. Rick also thought it was strange that Lisa was reassigned to some internal projects that didn't seem to carry the depth and weight of the work that she normally did. He would have thought that Lisa would have fought to be assigned to some of the more difficult work as she normally did, but she just nodded to Admiral Gloval when she was given her assignments. Rick caught her eye once during the meeting and instead of looking away from him as she normally did, she gave him a weak smile. After the meeting, Rick tried to reach Lisa in order to talk to her but Admiral Gloval asked her and Claudia to stay behind as everyone was dismissed. Rick lingered a bit outside after the meeting ended, but eventually gave up and went to the hangars as he didn't know how long Lisa and Claudia would be in with Gloval.

It was about 15 minutes later that Claudia finally looked out the boardroom door, "Whew, thank goodness, he finally left. I don't know what is with that boy." Admiral Gloval took his leave, leaving the two woman alone. Claudia looked at Lisa who was sitting in a chair reading through some documents in her project folders. "And you, don't encourage him. You don't need him. Don't forget he's holed up in his nest with his songbird."

Lisa flushed angrily, "I wasn't doing anything Claudia and you know it. I still have to tell him and dammit, I don't know how or what I am going to say to him..."

"You don't have to tell him anything"

"Claudia!" Lisa was quiet for a few moments, "as much as I would love to do just that, it's not going to be much longer before the whole base knows about my condition... and I don't want there to be endless speculation or gossip about this. Him and I are going to have to learn to deal with this and I would rather it be on my terms than his. I should have told him how I felt about him, but I didn't and I've lost any chance I could have had with him. I've accepted that, but I won't screw this up and I'm going to deal with this like the adult I am."

Claudia went up to her friend and put an arm around her, "I'm here for you, you know that right?"

"I know, Claudia, I know and I thank you, I don't know what I would do without you."

The two hugged and then left the room and headed to their various duties.


	4. Chapter 4

Rick hoping to find a good time to catch Lisa alone, continued to watch for a chance to talk to her alone and continued to find little new things about her that seemed to have changed. A few days later after the staff meeting, in the officer's mess hall standing a few people back from her, he noticed that instead of Lisa's usual garden salad, she opted for a grilled chicken salad and a bottled water. He would have asked to join her for lunch but when he saw her heading for the table where Claudia and the Trio were sitting he knew that was once place he needed to stay clear of and sat away from them but in a position where he could still observe her from a distance. Rick noticed that Lisa seemed to pick at her salad and was being pushed by Claudia to eat a little more. He also became concerned when Lisa pulled a small bag out of her jacket pocket and pulled something out and put it in her mouth, quickly swallowing it with a drink from her bottled water. Sammie, Vanessa and Kim were so caught up in the story that they were telling that they didn't notice her action and Rick wondered what it was, as Lisa usually took her vitamins in the morning. Random thoughts ran though his head and he wondered if Lisa wasn't feeling well and didn't know why the thought of her sick made him feel a bit anxious.

The next week Lisa returned to Dr. Wu's office for the ultrasound. Dr. Wu told Lisa that she didn't normally perform the ultrasounds but felt in this case Lisa would feel more comfortable with Dr. Wu than with a technician. As she lay on the examination table, Dr. Wu explained the procedure to her and had Lisa loosen her skirt and raise her shirt to expose her belly. Dr. Wu then smeared a clear gel on Lisa's belly and started to run the transducer over her belly. Lisa watched the monitor in front of her and Dr. Wu showed Lisa the small bean shaped object that was her baby. Lisa teared up a bit as she saw the tiny object that her body was sheltering and cried with joy as Dr. Wu used a fetal doppler to allow her to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Lisa wished that Rick was with her to hear it as well but she also truly knew at this point that the baby was a reality. Dr. Wu explained that based on the measurements of the fetus, that the baby would be due sometime in mid to late August. Dr. Wu handed Lisa a copy of the ultrasounds photos as a keepsake and after dressing and looking at the photos, Lisa knew it was time to tell Rick.

Not wanting to go to his house and talk to him where he was living with Minmei, Lisa called Rick's cellphone and not getting an answer, left him a message. "Rick, it's Lisa. Um, I know it maybe awkward, but could you give me a call back, I'd like to talk to you. Please, get back to me. Thanks." Rick, who was sitting at home, didn't hear the phone, as it was on silent mode, contemplating Minmei's question. She had asked again whether he would consider leaving the RDF and possibly have a normal life together. He knew that she didn't get that there was no chance of leaving a normal life anymore, not until the threat of Khyron had been eliminated. Lisa would understand, he thought, she understands that until the threat is removed, that there is was no chance for peace for the rest of the world. Not knowing what to say and unwilling to stay longer in the house, he poked his head into the bedroom where Minmei was flipping though some magazines. "Um Minmei, I need to head into base for a few hours, I just wanted to let you know before I left."

"Oh Rick, do you really have to go? Isn't today supposed to be your day off?" she asked, pouting prettily. Rick felt bad about lying about having to go in to the base but couldn't stay cooped up in the house with her. "I'm sorry Minmei, I really have to go in. You know what? Why don't we go out to dinner tomorrow night?"

Minmei perked up at that. "Really Rick, that would be wonderful. I know just where we should go, all the famous people go and it's the best place to be seen." Minmei got up from the bed and started to go through her clothes trying to figure out what she wanted to wear the next night. "Go ahead and make the plans then Minmei, I'll be back later ok?"

"Ok Rick, see you later!" Rick grabbed his phone and his coat and headed out the door.

Rick decided to walk to base and while he was walking noticed the blue light flashing on his phone indicating that he had a message. He checked his voicemail and was happy to hear Lisa's voice and her message about wanting to talk to him and dialed her office number in his speed dial.

Lisa, after leaving the message for Rick, also headed back to base and was in her office in the SDF-2 going through her new projects when her phone rang. It rang twice before Lisa picked it up, "Capt Hayes speaking.."

"Lisa, it's Rick."

Lisa was quiet for a second. She felt a little unprepared for this.

"Lisa are you there?"

Coming out of her daze, Lisa responded, "Yes, Rick I'm here."

Rick a little confused by her response pushed forward, "Um, you called me saying that you wanted to talk."

"Um, yes, I did want to talk to you, I know it's your day off today and I don't want to upset any plans you may have made, but I'd like to talk to you about something, is there a time that you could meet me?"

"Lisa, I am just headed to base right now, do you want me to come to your office," asked Rick.

Lisa not wanting to impart the news of her pregnancy in the office, as she didn't know what type of reaction she would get from Rick decided to suggest a different place.

"I don't get off until 5pm, do you think you can meet me then? At the park near the base?" she asked. Rick happy to get a chance to make amends and apologize for his behavior, quickly agreed to the meeting spot.

Just as they were about to get off the phone, alarms starting going off and Sammie's voice came out over the intercom "All personnel please report to duty, enemy cruiser has been spotted."

"Rick, I have to go there is some type of emergency, I'll see you then ok?"

"Sure Lisa, I'm almost to the base too and I'll see what's going on. Talk to you later."

Lisa and Rick hung up the phones and ran to their respective stations.

* * *

Lisa watched from her position on the SDF-2 as the huge cruiser came into view. She wondered why their was no earlier notice of the cruiser and after ordering shots to be fired, was forced to abandon the ship as the SDF-2 took a direct hit and started to sink. When the blast hit, Lisa and the crew clung to their work stations and was quite shaken by the hit. Lisa ordered an immediate evacuation of the ship and thought about what Admiral Gloval would do. Realizing that Admiral Gloval was the answer, Lisa ordered Sammie, Kim and Vanessa to follow her through the connecting passageway to the SDF-1 where Claudia and Admiral Gloval were waiting for them.

Rick who had gotten into the air and was attacking the Zentraedi cruiser, saw the blast to the SDF-2 and witnessed it's destruction. "Lisa, no, Lisa!," he yelled into the TacNet. Numbly, he fought on with a vengeance, realizing for the first time that his feelings for Lisa were much more than he realized. He continued his attack on the pods and cruiser, not noticing the SDF-1 was rising from it's artificial lake bed.

Rick felt relief, when he heard Lisa's voice over the TacNet, coming from the SF-1. "Lisa, is that really you?"

"Yes, it is flyboy, and I suggest you fire your afterburners and get out of there, we are about to fire the main gun."

Rick ecstatic to hear that Lisa was alive and on the SDF-1 ordered his men out of there before the main gun fired.

While the main gun was successful in destroying the majority of the cruiser, the proximity of the cruiser to the SDF-1 meant that that the SDF-1 still took a huge hit from the debris from the cruiser. Rick heard Lisa's call to "Brace for impact" and the cries from the bridge crew could be heard through out the TacNet and all Rick was able to hear Claudia, saying, "Oh no, Lisa...Lisa are you alright...?" before communications between the bridge and the base was cut off.

Rick worried about what happened to his friends and especially Lisa, Rick circled the SDF-1 to assess the damage. He could see that the remaining part of the Zentraedi cruiser had hit the lower part of the SDF-1, below the bridge and that the SDF-1 was slowly descending to sink back into the lake. He continued to try and contact the bridge, calling out Lisa's name and wiping at tears streaming down his face.

"Rick, Rick, come in" said Max over the TacNet.

Rick finally responding in a tired voice, "Yeah, Max, I'm here.."

"Orders just came in, we gotta go help the civilians...there are a lot of people hurt down there. The emergency crews are already all over the SDF-1, they will get everyone out."

Rick looked at Max over the TacNet, "What if she didn't make it Max, what am I going to do?"

Max looked over at the destruction below. "Lisa's a fighter, Rick, she'll make it."

"I hope you're right Max...because I didn't get a chance to tell her how much I love her."

Max keeping Rick's hope up, just said, "Don't worry, you'll get your chance. Took you long enough to realize it though."

Rick just took another look below and hoped that his friends were alright before he flew to Macross to help put out the fires and see what the damage was to New Macross City.

* * *

On the bridge of the SDF-1, Gloval ordered for immediate evacuation of the SDF-1. He knew they didn't have much time to get off the bridge of the sinking ship. Lisa who had hung on to her console when the ship took the hit, had been initially okay, but the following blasts from below, caused her to lose her grip on her station and she fell to the ground, hitting her head on the console as she went down. Claudia's station was next to Lisa's, and she was able to reach Lisa first and help her up. As Lisa shook the stars from her eyes, Claudia rushed her to an escape pod. "You okay honey?"she asked Lisa.

"Yeah, I think so...where's everyone else?"

"They're coming.."

Admiral Gloval made sure everyone was loaded into the escape pods and that Lisa was strapped in tightly before they ejected from the bridge and landed safely in the water. Once they were retrieved, Admiral Gloval ordered that Lisa be immediately taken into the hospital for observation. Lisa looked at him and he patted her hand, "Humor an old man, I just want to make sure everything is ok." Lisa eyes glistened with tears and hugged him before she was helped onto a gurney and quickly taken to the hospital to be checked over.

Rick continued to monitor transmissions while on duty and glad to hear that the escape pods from the bridge were all recovered and that everyone was out safely, however, communications from the base noted that First Officer Lisa Hayes was taken to the hospital and that her condition was unknown. He tried to get more information but with none forthcoming decided that he would need to check on her himself after this latest crisis was over.

It was late night when the last fires were put out and the citizens of New Macross were either in shelters or relocated. Rick was exhausted when he landed his Veritech on the deck of the Prometheus but couldn't rest until he knew that Lisa was ok. He called her mobile phone, but only received her voicemail. He checked with the base but they couldn't give her him an update on her whereabouts or if she was still in the hospital or not. Frustrated he left the hangar, running into Max and Miriya on their way to pick up Dana from the base daycare. "Thanks for the hard work today, you two. It was tough, but with Khyron destroyed, we might have a chance at peace." Rick slapped Max on the back and was about to give Miriya a hug when Miriya gave him the stink eye. Rick ran his hand through his hair and swore, "Damn it Miriya, give it a break, I know you're mad at me after what I did to Lisa and I totally get it but we just went through hell today. If it makes you feel better, I've been trying to make up with Lisa for the last couple of weeks and just spent the last 10 minutes trying to find out where there hell she is because I'm damned worried about her and..." Rick couldn't continue and Miriya feeling a bit of remorse for her haggard looking commanding officer, embraced Rick in a quick hug. "I apologize for my behavior lately, you are my friend too and I shouldn't have neglected your feelings in this. As for Captain Hayes, I have it on the best authority that she is still at the hospital for observation and I am quite concerned for her as well."

Max and Rick both looked at her, Rick asked, "How do you know she's still in the hospital?"

Miriya looked at Rick like he had grown two heads, "Easily, I called Commander Grant, who informed me of Lisa's whereabouts. I will admit, that I have been concerned about the captain as well, she hasn't been herself lately and has been feeling unwell, almost like when... OH! Hmm, well that can't be, can it?" Max and Rick looked questioningly at Miriya who realized what may be ailing her friend. She looked at Rick and noticed the concerned look on his face and decided that it was not a good time to voice her speculation. "Uh, I would check the hospital Rick and don't get her upset again." Rick worried that something was seriously wrong with Lisa, quickly said his goodbyes to Max and Miriya and hurried to the base hospital.

Max curious as to what Miriya meant earlier, questioned her as they walked to the base daycare. "Miriya, about Lisa, is there something we should be worried about?"

"I'm not sure Max, I've also noticed that Lisa hasn't been the same lately and there have been times when I caught her feeling unwell. And now that I think about it more, a couple of times I have seen her daydreaming with a faraway look in her eyes. It reminded me of something..."

"Miriya, what is it?

Miriya, stopped walking and asked Max, "Is there a possibility that Lisa could be pregnant? It's just that her behavior reminds me of well, when I was carrying Dana."

"Well I don't know Miriya, I didn't think Rick and Lisa ever had that type of relationship. He's never said anything... and he is with Minmei now."

"What if it's not his? What if Lisa got fed up with Rick and decided to find her own way to get over him? She's been sent to Monument and Granite City a few times since their fight and it's not like we know what she did there."

"Miriya, I don't think Captain Hayes would act that recklessly, but let's just keep this conversation between the two of us. If that is the case, I'd hate to see what happens next between the two because I think Rick realized tonight what Lisa means to him." Max hugged his wife close to him and hurried to get Dana so they could return home.


	5. Chapter 5

Rick hurried over to the base hospital, hoping that Lisa was alright. He had been by her side so many times in this wretched war and never felt as helpless as he did before when he saw the SDF-1 take that last hit. He knew seeing for himself that she was alive and well would release the pressure he felt in his chest and allow him to breathe. His phone vibrating in his pocket caught his attention and he answered it without seeing who was calling. "Yeah, this is Rick," he said into the phone.

"Rick, Rick, I'm so glad you are ok? Why haven't you called me?"

Rick groaned, he had forgotten about Minmei and felt bad that he hadn't even checked to make sure she was ok, "Minmei, are you ok?"

"Barely, the MP's evacuated us to shelters when the bombings started. We just got out and I'm heading back to our house. I hope nothing got damaged. I was so worried about you Rick, I'm glad that you made it, are you going to be home soon?"

"Not yet Minmei, I still have to check on some things here and then I'll be home ok?"

"Well, hurry Rick, and I'm glad that you are ok."

"Ok, bye Minmei.." Rick hung up the phone and felt guilty that he lied to her. Minmei was really nice and sweet and his dream for so long, but now all he wanted to do was to find Lisa and make sure she was ok.

He reached the base hospital and ran in to the receptionist desk. Even thought the attack was hours ago, the waiting room was full of people who still needed to be seen and treated. He nodded to a few people he knew and stopped to ask about their condition before he reached the nurses station. He had been here many times before when he was injured in battle or visited when a subordinate had been injured. Rick smiled at the matronly nurse at the reception desk and in a low voice asked, "Um, is Capt. Hayes here?" The nurse who was familiar with the drama between Capt. Hayes and Capt. Hunter wondered why Captain Hunter was here asking for her. She didn't know what to say and was about to give her standard answer that she could not give out information regarding a patient unless the person was marked as next of kin on the medical release forms. The nurse on duty was saved when Commander Grant came up behind Rick and said coolie, "She's here, Rick, but you can't see her right now, so why don't you just go on home."

Claudia had just come down from Lisa's room after seeing her friend to sleep, when she saw Rick at the nurse's station and heard his question as she was about to pass him. Claudia was angry at Rick and couldn't believe that he would show his face here and have the nerve to ask about Lisa. Rick turned around and saw Claudia standing there and grabbed her in a tight hug.

"Claudia, thank goodness, you guys are are all alright. I heard that you all escaped from the SDF-1, but I was wondering, can you tell me what happened to Lisa... is she ok? I want to see her..."

Claudia, even after the death and sorrow of the day, could not let her anger for Rick go and pushed herself out of his arms and slapped him across the face. Rick staggered back at Claudia's blow and everyone in the waiting room quieted down and wondered what was going on. Claudia not one to normally draw attention, dragged Rick into the supply closet across from the nurse's station and laid into him. "How dare you come here, asking how she's doing. What the hell is wrong with you Rick Hunter, even Roy wasn't as dense as you. Don't come in here acting like you care, if you did, you would have seen how much she cared about you and how much you hurt her by shacking up with Minmei only weeks after being with her."

Rick realized from Claudia's words that she knew what had really happened between him and Lisa that rainy night but still tried to defend himself, "I know I messed up with the picnic and I tried to get her to talk to me so I could apologize.."

"You shouldn't have given up so easily Hunter, Lisa's pride was hurt and you embarrassed her in front of the whole base, of course she was mad, but why did you have to take up with Minmei so fast? Couldn't you have waited a bit?"

Rick, ashamed of himself and the way that he treated Lisa, realized he never stopped to see how his actions forced Lisa to treat him like she did. If she had forgiven him that easily, everyone on base would have seen Lisa as being weak and it would have slowly undermined her authority as people would questioned her judgment and use it against her. He realized just how wrong he had been and wondered how much pain Lisa had been in because of him. He spoke to Claudia hoarsely, "I didn't realize it, Claudia, I didn't think about it in that way. I promise I want to make it up to her, be with her, if she would forgive me."

Claudia, not willing to forgive him so easily, simply said, "Go home Hunter, you're not wanted here. I am sure Minmei is at home waiting for you. As for seeing Lisa, just forget about it. You are not on the approved visitor's list, capiche?"

Claudia opened the door to the supply room and motioned to one the MP's. "Yes ma'am," stated the sergeant as he approached the two as they came out of the closet.

"Please escort Captain Hunter from here, per Gloval's order's Captain Hunter is banned from trying to see Captain Hayes." Claudia handed over the order she had meant to drop at the nurse's station, to the MP who opened the piece the paper. After reading it and seeing the signature below, he nodded and looked at Rick. "Captain, sir, I am sorry to ask you this, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. If you attempt to see Capt. Hayes, we have orders to detain you"

Rick couldn't believe what was happening to him. Angrily, he punched the wall next to him, which caused the MP to call out a warning, "Sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave now, if you continue to act this way, I will have no choice to detain you for disturbing the peace."

Rick stalked out of the hospital, angry at himself and angry at Gloval and Claudia for interfering. Claudia followed him out and called out to him before he made his way to his home. "Rick, if you want to make it up to her, I think you need to do some housecleaning first." Rick just turned to Claudia and nodded his head in understanding. He decided to try one more time. "Claudia, can you at least tell me, if she's ok?"

Claudia seeing the remorse in Rick's blue eyes, soften a little bit. "She'll be fine Rick, she just needs a bit of rest."

"I want to see her," he said stubbornly.

"No."

Rick knew not to continue to push Claudia, but decided that he would find a way to get in to see her.

* * *

Rick finally heading home for the night, wondered what he was going to tell Minmei. He didn't want to hurt her but knew in his heart that she wasn't the one for him. If anything this day taught him was that he needed to live his life as best he could with someone that loved him for him and wouldn't try to change him into something he's not. Roy was right, Rick thought, this Robotechnology gets into your blood. He realized that the military had given him something that he was lacking in his former life and that the ideals of the RDF embodied by Lisa, Admiral Gloval, Claudia and Roy were now the same ideals he shared and he wholeheartedly supported the cause, defend humanity and fight for peace.

It was late when Rick finally walked into the door and Minmei sprang to her feet and enveloped him in a hug. He briefly embraced her back and sat down on the couch exhausted. Minmei recognizing that this was not the time to ask him questions, told Rick that she was headed for bed and that he should retire for the night as well. Minmei waited for Rick to come to bed after she heard him washing up in the bathroom and became worried when he didn't come into the bedroom after she heard the bathroom door close. Minmei opened the bedroom door and saw that Rick had made his bed on the couch, similar to when Minmei first arrived and where he had slept until that Christmas night. Minmei wondered what could have caused Rick to have a change of heart. Thinking back, the only thing she could think of was hearing on the late night news that the bridge crew had escaped the attack and that all were ok, except for the First Officer Lisa Hayes, who was taken to the hospital for undisclosed reasons. As much as Minmei didn't want to admit it, she knew that Rick and Lisa had become good friends since Dolza's Rain. She had joked with him about the "old sourpuss" once at dinner and whether or not she had gotten a boyfriend yet, when Rick had just shot her a look and said, "please don't talk about her like that, Capt. Hayes, is good friend of mine and she's really very nice." Rick had then excused himself to take care of some work on his laptop and Minmei wondered if there was more to it than it seemed. There was other evidence in the house that also seemed to indicate that Lisa played a larger presence in Rick's life than he let on. The quality of the bedding, sheets and the towels showed that Rick had some help from someone in purchasing these items, Minmei was pretty sure no bachelor cared about the thread count in the sheets or whether it was made from Egyptian cotton or not. There were also the small drawer in Rick's desk that was filled with notes, cards, photos and little items like movie ticket stubs that Rick kept. Minmei had found them by accident when she was looking for a pen to write down a number, and spent a few minutes looking at the items and feeling insecure in her relationship with Rick as these type of mementos that they had were few and far between. She thought that she would have seen more of Lisa or ran into her at least if they were that good of friends, but not once did she ever hear of Lisa calling Rick or Rick talking to Lisa on the phone or Rick mentioning her at all. While Minmei was happy about that, as she wasn't the type to share, she wondered what it all really meant. Sighing she went back to bed, thinking of what she could do to stay by Rick's side.


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter contains a mature love scene between Lisa and Rick, please do not read, if this is not your cup of tea.

* * *

Rick dreamed of Lisa that night and relived the fear and anxiety he felt over the multiple attacks he witnessed against the battleships. Interspersed between the dreams of the attacks, were memories of better times with Lisa, her laughing with him, teasing him and that one glorious night that they had spent together and the absolute look of love that she had given him that night. Rick woke up with a start, sweating and in a panic, looking for Lisa next to him. He took a few calming breaths and got up and got a glass of water. Rick sat back on the couch, and rubbed his hands over his face and allowed himself to think back to that cold rainy night. It wasn't something he allowed himself to dwell on as that night seemed like a dream to him, a fantasy and he knew that there was no hope of recovering that dream, not after what he did to her.

_It had started with him searching for Lisa after coming to the realization that what Vanessa had said to him on the bridge was true, that Lisa was indeed in love with him. He didn't know how he didn't see it until now and ran out of his house that night, looking for her. After running around and checking the base and her home, he had found Lisa at Claudia's house, sharing a drink with her friend. Rick had asked her if they could talk and found themselves fighting through the storm to get to his house. Laughing and dripping wet, they arrived at Rick's home which was the closest to Claudia's place. Rick recalled that Lisa was wet through and when she took off her coat, he could see her bra through the light pink shirt that she was wearing. Offering to make her some tea, he told her to change in the bathroom and to put on his robe that was hanging on the back of the door. Rick had gone to the bedroom to dry off and change into a a pair of sweats and a long sleeved t-shirt that ironically Lisa had given him. He had then gone to the kitchen and poured two cups of tea for himself and Lisa. _

_When he returned to the living room, Lisa had been sitting on the couch, enveloped in his robe with her feet tucked under her. He smiled as she looked so small sitting there, not like the usual tough Captain that she was. After handing her a cup of tea, he went to retrieve another towel from his closet, to dry Lisa's long hair. Lisa had put her cup down when he sat next to her and approached her with the towel and said a little sheepishly, "Sorry I don't have a hair dryer." Instead of handing her the towel, he opened it and draped it over her head and started to gently rub her hair dry with the towel. Lisa surprised by his move had reached up and put her hands over his saying, "it's ok, Rick, I can do it.." but he didn't let go and continued to rub her hair dry. After a while he stopped rubbing down her hair and brought his hands down to trace his hand over her the side of her face. He was amazed to find that her skin was so soft. She flushed as he cupped her cheek and Lisa, enjoying the feel and warmth of his hand, leaned into the touch. Rick didn't know what came over him at that point, but that single motion drove Rick to move forward and he found himself tipping Lisa's face up to his and kissing her on the lips._

_ Lisa, who couldn't believe that Rick was kissing her without an order, returned his kiss which further drove his passion. Deepening his kiss, Rick felt Lisa open up to him and he could taste the tea and the wine that she had with Claudia on her lips and on her tongue. Hungrily and eager to taste her and touch her, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms and rubbed circles on her back. Wanting more but not knowing how to ask, Rick continued to kiss her pulling her body towards him. It was Lisa who eventually pushed him back, and smiling seductively at him, had untied the knot to the robe she wore. Leaning forward she kissed Rick back and taking one of his hands in hers she brought his hand into the robe and placed his hand on her waist. Rick growled low and took her action as a tacit approval to continue. He brought his other hand to clasp her waist and then slowly moved his hands up her body. The robe loosened around Lisa and Rick was pleased to find that Lisa had removed her bra when she had changed. He had an unobstructed view of her breasts and couldn't help but admire her high firm breasts with the light brown nipples and aureole. Continuing to kiss her, he slowly moved his hands to cup her breasts, caressing them and thumbing her nipples as they hardened under his touch. Lisa moaned into his mouth and he plunged his tongue into her mouth. Rick continued to touch and explore her body, until both were breathless and panting heavy. Lisa looked at him with her green eyes glowing and Rick feeling bold, picked her up bridal style and carried her into his bedroom. _

_Once there Rick couldn't hold back. He laid Lisa on his bed and swiftly removed her panties. He could smell her essence and couldn't wait to taste her. Rick quickly removed his own clothes and then spent time kissing Lisa first before heading down her body, stopping to lick and suck on her breasts. His manhood was heavy and eager for it's own reward, but he wanted to make sure that Lisa was enjoying his attentions. The cries and moans that she made and the way she softly cried out his name, encouraged Rick to continue. He reached the most intimate part of her and Lisa spread her legs open for him as she felt his breath against her mound. Reaching up to caress her breasts, he played with them a few more minutes before bending his head down and tasting Lisa. He watched her face as he touched and licked her and saw how her eyes opened at the feel of his mouth on her and heard the low moan that came from her throat. Her hands still encased in the robe, clutched the blanket below her. Rick continued to love her with his mouth and tongue and slid a finger into her wet sheath intensifying her experience. He felt Lisa rock her hips towards him and knew that Lisa was getting close. Wiping his mouth with his hand, Rick slid up to Lisa and kissed her deeply. She clutched at his chest and ran her hands up and down his body, enjoying the strength of the young pilot. Rick continued to kiss her as he settled his body between her legs and pulled back to look at Lisa and gave her a questioning look. Lisa just nodded her head in acquiescence and Rick slowly pushed himself into her warm, welcoming sheath. For him, the feeling was indescribable and his blue eyes burned into hers as he pushed into her. Recognizing from the tightness of her body that he would need to take it slow, Rick was sure to take his time, slowly moving in and out, allowing her to get used to the feel of his width. It wasn't until he hit an unknown barrier that his eyes opened in surprise and he pulled back a bit unsure of what to do next. It would be torturous to stop at this point and he pushed back against the barrier a little bit gauging Lisa's reaction. Lisa took a quick intake a breath when she felt Rick pressing into her, but she knew that she wanted to move forward. Rick sensing her pain, kissed her until he felt her relax a bit and wondered what he should do. "Lisa," he whispered softly, looking into her eyes "is it your first time?" Lisa looked at him with so much love in her eyes, whispered, "Yes... is that ok?" Rick couldn't help but allow a nervous laugh to escape him. "Yah, it's ok, but are you sure, you want to..." Lisa didn't provide a verbal response, she just pulled Rick in for another kiss and lifted her right leg and wrapped it around his waist opening herself up to him. Rick, unable to control himself at that point, thrust forward hard and broke the thin barrier that kept him from being with Lisa completely. He kissed her hard as he swallowed her cry of pain and waited until he felt her body relax before thrusting into her. Lisa clung to him as he continued to love her and Rick had to admit that it was with love that he took her that night. That night as the rain pounded down on New Macross, Rick and Lisa were lost in their own world as they learned a new way to please each other._

Rick hung his head in his hands as he remembered what happened afterward. _He had woken up at first wondering if he had been dreaming, but the tangled sheets, his own nakedness and a soreness only associated with a certain type of activity made him realize that the last night wasn't a dream. He was a bit sad to see a note in place of of where he thought Lisa should have been laying, and wondered why she didn't wake him up before leaving. He read her note again:_

_Thank you for the wonderful night, I can't wait to see you again. I wish I could have stayed but had an early meeting. Forgive me? I promise to make it up.._

_Yours, Lisa_

_Smiling to himself, Rick decided that Lisa didn't wake him up because if she did, she wouldn't have been able to resist him and would have been late for her meeting. He didn't get a chance to see Lisa for the next couple of days as she had to go to Monument City and the day she returned was the day he had asked her out to the picnic_.

Rick groaned to himself as he remembered the day that he decided to meet Minmei instead of meeting Lisa as he had planned. Sighing and knowing that the next day was going to be heavy as well, Rick fixed his bed on the couch and fell back asleep. The next day was tough on everyone. Not only did the personnel have move to makeshift quarters as the SDF-1 was out of commission but everyone on base had also heard about Claudia's and Rick's confrontation at the hospital and no one was quite sure what it had been about, although most speculated that it had something to do with Capt. Hayes who was still out of commission and still in the hospital.


	7. Chapter 7

The Skull Squadron was on cleanup duty looking for any Zentraedi stragglers from Khyron's attack. The bridge crew was using a secondary bridge and was having a difficult time moving around in the much smaller space. They chatted as they worked, and Sammie, wondered outloud about Lisa's condition and when she was going to get out of the hospital. "I don't know why Gloval was so worried about her. We all got checked after the escape, so why did Lisa had to go in an ambulance and why is she still there. Do you guys think that there is something else wrong with her?" Vanessa joined in the gossip as well, "I'm not sure but I've heard Lisa throwing up in the ladies room the other day, she said she had some bad sushi, but maybe she caught a bug or something." Sammie sighed coordinating another flight plan for another squad, "Well I hope she gets better soon, I don't know how she handles all of this."

Lisa awoke from her sleep, feeling a bit nauseous. She was glad for the feeling as it made her feel that everything would be ok. Dr. Wu had checked on her the previous day when she had been admitted. Dr. Wu was concerned about Lisa being knocked to the floor and thought it was a good idea if Lisa stayed in the hospital for observation. Dr. Wu came by soon after Lisa woke, and after checking her vital signs, advised another day of bed rest for Lisa before being released. She mentioned that she would return that afternoon to check on her and the baby. Lisa knew that there was a risk she could lose the baby but hoped that the fall wouldn't have any negative effects. She spent the majority of the day on work items that she could handle through her tablet that Claudia had brought her and took a nap in the late afternoon.

Lisa was napping when the door slowly opened, and Rick Hunter quietly slipped into her room. He had been to the hospital enough to know the layout of the place fairly well and figured out a way to sneak in without being seen by the MP's on duty. It had taken a bit to find Lisa's room, but succeeded when a nurse, left her station when she was called by a patient. He was able to locate Lisa on the third floor of the hospital in room 309 and took the stairs up to her room to avoid being seen by others. He knew he had to see her, just to make sure she was ok, and had tapped lightly on her door. Rick heard someone coming down the hall and knowing he could get in big trouble if caught, decided that he had no choice and entered her room. The shades in the room were partially drawn and Lisa was laying on her side asleep. Rick not wanting to wake her up, tiptoed across the room and settled himself in the chair next to her. He wanted to reach out and touch her but knew she would wake up if he did. He was content to watch her sleep and felt an ease in his heart. It hurt him knowing how much he had hurt her, and wondered how he was ever going to make it up to her. He knew that he had to break things off with Minmei and knew that even that may not be enough to gain her forgiveness. Rick knew at that point he would do anything for the love of the woman lying in the bed.

Lisa slowly rousing from her nap, sensed the presence of someone in the room. "Claudia?" she asked sleepily. Rick hesitated before answering her, "It's just me, Lisa..." Lisa looked up to see Rick sitting in the chair next to her. She pulled herself on the bed and Rick tried to help her but she stopped him, "It's ok, I got it." Settling back down on the bed she asked quietly, "What are you doing here Rick?"

Trying to lighten the mood, Rick just said, "Well you didn't meet me at the park yesterday like you asked so I decided to come and find you instead." Lisa grimaced at his bad joke and Rick hurried on to say, "Truthfully, I was worried about you. I saw the hits that the SDF-2 and SDF-1 took and I just needed to see that you were ok. Lisa, I just want to tell you how sorry I am about everything that's happened the last couple of weeks and I want you to know how much..."

Lisa interrupted Rick at that point, not ready yet to hear any apologizes from him. In her eyes, it was too late and she didn't want to continue on this emotional roller coaster she'd been on the last couple of weeks. "Rick, it's alright, it is what it is and we can't change what's been done. I'd like to move forward from this if we can."

Rick not understanding that Lisa wasn't forgiving him, went on earnestly, "Lisa, I swear things between us will be different. We will work through this. I promise..."

"Rick, stop! I don't think you get it. I'm not forgiving you, I'm just asking that we move on from this. I'm not going to be mad anymore but we aren't going to be going back to being friends or whatever else you think we should be in your crazy head."

"No, Lisa, what are you saying? I don't think that I can.."

Lisa interrupted him again. "Rick, please don't finish that sentence.. There's something I wanted to talk to you about anyway, and while this isn't the way that I imagined telling you, I don't know if there really is any good way of telling you this."

Rick feeling a sense of dread, dropped into the chair and just waited for whatever Lisa was going to drop on him. He couldn't believe that she was giving up on him wasn't going to let him try and make it up to her. He felt a little numb and watched as Lisa pulled something from a folder next to her bed. She held it in her hand and she paused for a minute before shakily passing it to Rick.

Rick noted her shaking hands and took the items from her, wondering what it could be that would cause Lisa to act this way. He studied the first grainy photo she gave him and noticed that each photo had Lisa's name on it and some measurements There was a small kidney bean shaped item in each of the photos and Rick realized that he was looking at an early sonogram photo. He remembered seeing the ones that Max had shared with great pride when Miriya was pregnant but was at a loss as to why Lisa would be showing him these photos, much less why her name was on the photos.

As Rick looked at the two photos he held in his hands, Lisa said softly, "Rick, I'm pregnant."

Rick was at a loss for words. In his wildest dreams he never imaged that this would be what Lisa would have had to tell him. He just looked at the photos, looked at Lisa and then looked at the photos again. He saw Lisa's anxious face and realized that not only had he humiliated her by taking up with Minmei, but on top of that she had to deal with the anxiety of finding herself pregnant by someone she didn't think cared about her. Rick didn't really know what to do at that point, but he did know that he had to show her that he could be there for, that he could be a man and that all those times she had believed in him and trusted in him weren't in vain.

"Is that why you are here, in the hospital?"

Lisa nodded her head, "Gloval didn't want to take the chance that something could have happened when I fell on the ship."

Rick felt a moment sense of panic and worry. Even though he had just heard the news, he couldn't bear it if something happened to Lisa or to the baby. "Are you ok? Is the, is the baby ok?"

Lisa nodded her head, "Yes, Dr. Wu thinks that everything is ok, she's going to check on me again later today to be sure but she wants me to rest until then. The pregnancy is still early Rick, there is still a chance that I may miscarry.."

Rick didn't want to hear that, he stepped up to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Lisa. "Shhh, Lisa, that's not going to happen ok... don't worry." He wanted to hug her but didn't know if it would upset her so he just sat there with the sonogram photos in hand.

"You mentioned Gloval knows, anyone else? Claudia I suppose..."

"Yes, that's it Rick. I needed someone to confide in they've both been very helpful since I found out." Rick felt hurt that she hadn't turned to him, but he understood why she couldn't. "I see...and um, are you feeling ok?"

Lisa laughed, "Other than the bouts of nausea and the sleepiness, everything has been ok. The doctor has me taking prenatal vitamins and asked me to eat a little better and to cut out the coffee, but otherwise I'm fine."

Rick just nodded his head and then asked, "So where do we go from here?"

Lisa just looked down to her hands, "I don't really know, I just got to the part where I had to tell you, I didn't really think about afterward. I.. I don't want this to interfere with your relationship with Minmei, Rick. We can discuss your level of involvement in the child's life after the baby is born."

Rick became angry, angry at himself and angry that Lisa would care about trying not to affect his relationship with Minmei, instead of thinking about herself. He was damned if he was going to let Lisa go through this pregnancy alone. Controlling himself and realizing he couldn't get mad now, he just patted her hand and said, "Ok, we'll talk about it later."

The door opening startled them both and Rick got up from the bed to see Dr. Wu coming into the room followed by an orderly pushing into the room a small cart carrying in some equipment.. Recognizing Capt. Hunter from base and the newspaper reports, she nodded her head in greeting and said to Lisa, "Hello Capt. Hayes, I see you have a visitor. I hope he knows that you need a lot of rest and that stress and worry can be very bad for you." Dr. Wu gave Rick an insincere smile and said, "I hope you understand Captain Hunter?" Rick understood the underlying tone of Dr. Wu's message and said, "Yes ma'am, I understand"

"Good, I'm glad we are all in agreement here. Well, I need to check on my patient here, do you mind if I ask you to leave?" asked Dr. Wu.

Rick not ready to leave yet, asked "Are you going to check on the baby?"

Dr. Wu looked at Lisa who spoke up and said, "Dr. Wu, what do you plan to do?"

"Not much, your physical exam looks good, I just wanted to do a check with the fetal doppler and if everything goes well, you can go home tomorrow afternoon."

Rick asked, "What's a fetal doppler?"

Dr. Wu, feeling a bit protective about the young captain under her care, said a bit annoyed, "It allows us to hear the heartbeat of the fetus."

Rick, annoyed that she called his baby a fetus, looked to Lisa and asked, "Could I stay? I promise I won't get in the way."

Lisa eager to hear the baby's heartbeat again and wanting the reassurance that everything was okay, just nodded her head. Lisa said a low "thank you" to Dr. Wu who just nodded her head in understanding and used the electric controls on the bed to help Lisa get into position. Realizing that Lisa was only wearing a hospital gown and not wanting to put her in a more awkward position, Dr. Wu asked Rick to turn around as she helped Lisa pull the hospital gown up past her belly. The Dr. then used the bedsheet to cover Lisa from her hip down and tucked the sheet under her so that it wouldn't come free during the examination. Rick sat back down in the chair as Dr. Wu started to run the wand over Lisa's belly and was rewarded with a strong whooshing, pounding sound. He asked in a awed voice, "is that the baby?" and was rewarded with a "yes" from Dr. Wu. He could see that Lisa had tears in her eyes and wished that he could be holding her hand, sharing this with her instead of being a spectator. Dr. Wu smiled and read her instruments, and said, "Well Lisa, it looks like everything reads normal. I'm going to keep you here one more night and then you can be discharged tomorrow. Try and get some rest. Ok."

Before Dr. Wu left she looked at Captain Hunter and said, "I suggest you leave now as well, before I inform the MP's that you are here. I believe that there is an order in place?"

Lisa looked at Rick in question. It was obvious that Claudia didn't inform Lisa about the restraining order against him.

"I think you better go," said Lisa dryly, understanding what was going on. Rick hurried to say good bye to Lisa and said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow and take you home ok?"

"No, Rick, you don't have to. Claudia's already agreed to help me tomorrow, I'll be fine."

"But Lisa.."

"Rick, please understand, I can't be around you right now, I just feel like we will just argue over nothing and it'll just stress me out. Please."

Rick frustrated with how things were going and realizing that now wasn't the time to talk to her about anything, just nodded his head and left, holding in his hands the sonogram photos.

Rick walked home home slowly, wondering what he was going to do. At times like these, he wished that Roy was still alive to help him wrap his head around what was going on and what to do. Rick realized that this wasn't a situation that he was going to be able to get out of. He stopped at the park that he was supposed to meet Lisa at and sat down on one of the green benches surrounding the small lake. It was cold out the and wind blew through his coat, chilling him to the bone. There was no one out and it was slowly getting dark and the street lamps started to flicker on. He looked at the small scrap of paper that he held in his hand and stared at the image of his baby. Rick didn't know if he was ready to be a father, much less having a baby with a woman that he wasn't in a relationship with. Yesterday's attack forced Rick to realize that the woman he wanted in his life, the one he wanted by his side, the one he couldn't live without was Lisa. He didn't know why it took him so long to figure it out and knew that he would have to prove to her that he could be the man for her and be a great father to their baby. As for Minmei, he knew that he couldn't continue to string her along and that he knew that he was going to have to ask her to leave. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Taking one last look at the photos, Rick carefully put them into his inner coat pocket, taking care not to crease them before heading home.


	8. Chapter 8

Minmei was waiting for him when he came home, excited to tell him the news. "Rick, guess what, I got us reservation on Friday for Papillion, it's the absolute best restaurant in the city and the hostess was so excited when I called. She also made arrangements for us to have the best table in the house. Ohh, I can't wait to go, Rick. I am so excited and I picked out the perfect dress, I haven't had a chance to wear it yet and I know you're going to love it." Rick couldn't believe that Minmei could even think of a night out after everything that happened the past two days. "Uh Minmei, don't you think that maybe we should postpone our dinner out to another night?"

Minmei looked at Rick like he was crazy, "Whatever for? Papillon is one of the most difficult restaurants to get into and getting a reservation like this is something not to pass up. Please Rick, I really want to go..."

Rick decided to try and different tactic with Minmei, he didn't feel like dining at a nice restaurant when so many others had suffered so much the last few days. "Minmei, do you think that maybe the reason it was easy to get a reservation this Friday is that not many famous people are going to be in town and that it would be better to go another night."

"Hmm, maybe you are right, I didn't think of it like that, that is totally something Kyle would say. You're right I am going to switch the reservations to the next week." Minmei ran off to call the restaurant and Rick returned to his room to change his clothes for the day. As he changed, he didn't know how he was going to breach the next conversation with Minmei, the one about their relationship and what her plans were for the future.

Minmei had prepared a simple dinner for the two of them and after eating Rick thanked her for the meal and took the dishes into the kitchen to wash up and clean the kitchen . He couldn't believe how much Minmei could talk and talk about herself. He had never noticed it so much as he had tonight. Rick knew he had to talk to her after dinner and made a pot of coffee for them. Minmei was sitting on the couch watching TV when Rick brought in the decaf coffee for the two of them. Minmei moved up to snuggle next to Rick when he sat on the couch, but he moved away from her by using the pretense that he forgot something in the kitchen. As he sat back down a bit away from her after bringing a few napkins from the kitchen to the table, he watched the entertainment news with her and noticed how she seem to sigh deeply when it was announced that Jaime Evans a new singing sensation was working on a new single and that she was planning to release it in the spring. Rick used that as an opening to ask Minmei, "Do you miss singing and performing Minmei, it was your dream for so long, how can you give it up?"

Minmei sighed softly and then looked at Rick with a smile on her face, "Rick, you're right, it was my dream and I gave it my all and succeeded professionally more than I imagined, but it brought me so much pain and suffering too. I lost Kyle, I almost lost you and I have a new dream now, to be your wife, like we dreamed so long ago." Rick sighed he didn't know how to tell her that her dream was no longer his dream and hadn't been for a long time even if he didn't realize it himself but he also didn't want to hurt her. Minmei had leaned in to kiss him and Rick grabbed her by the arms to stop her. Minmei who had her lips puckered and her eyes closed as she went it for the kiss, startled by his action, opened her eyes in surprise. "Rick, what is wrong with you? You've been acting weird and distant the last couple of days and I know you're upset about everything that's been going on, but what about me? You can't just ignore me Rick Hunter.." With that Minmei got up and flounced to the bedroom, shutting the door with the bang.

Minmei was annoyed and frustrated, she didn't know what was going on with Rick and wondered what to do about it. She regretted acting the way she just did and worried if that would drive him away. She wondered if she should go back out and apologize but she didn't know what she would be apologizing for especially since he was the one that pushed her away. Minmei knew that she had a lot of admirers and some in much better financial situation than Rick. The thing with Rick is that she knew he was a decent guy and wouldn't mistreat her. Before heading to bed, Minmei thought, he better change his tune soon, or he's going to lose me, there are a lot of guys out there that would love to have me at their side. I'll give it a few days and see how it goes.

Rick didn't know what to do, he lost the chance to talk to Minmei about their situation and now she was mad, who knows how long it would take for her to get over it before he could talk to her. Rick went and got ready for bed and then went to his coat to pull out the photo he so carefully put in there earlier. He stared at them a bit and them put them back into his coat pocket. He then went to his desk and pulled out the small drawer on the left. In it were little notes that Lisa had left for him, cards and and in an envelope at the bottom of the drawer, some photos. It wasn't the photos that Lisa had given him a few weeks before their argument, but some that had been taken by Max a few months back in the summertime at a picnic. Rick pulled the photos out and took them with him back to the couch. He pulled out the first photo and looked at the photo of Lisa holding little baby Dana wrapped in a yellow blanket in the cradle of her arms. The look and the smile on the Lisa's face was one of pure joy and Rick didn't know why he had wanted that photo of her when Max had shown him the photos taken from that day. Looking at it now, he could imagine Lisa holding her own bundle of joy and could see himself standing next to her, supporting her. He flipped to the next photo of Lisa and him sitting next together at the picnic table with their heads tilted towards one another almost touching and smiling into the camera. As much as they two of them fought and argued about stupid things at work and Rick knew sometimes he antagonized Lisa on purpose, off base and in social situations, the two of them seem to gravitate towards one another and in many of the photos Rick had seen, they were many times sitting closely together. The third photo Rick had was one that Max had taken of Lisa unawares. It was a closeup of her face and her hair was tied back in a ponytail, but the warm breeze from that day had been blowing her hair around. In it, Lisa looked contemplative and dreamy and had a small smile on her face. He hadn't know what she had been thinking of, but he loved the look that she had on her face and hoped to see it again. Sighing deeply, he returned the photos to their place in the desk drawer and returned to his bed on the couch. He fell asleep, his heart and mind heavy with the situation he had gotten himself into.

Rick awoke the next morning earlier than usual and not wanting to have another confrontation with Minmei, he got ready and quickly dressed in some work out clothes and decided to run to the base that morning. There he showered and changed into a spare uniform and then went to start his day in his office on the Prometheus. Checking his email he found a short note from Capt. Jack Archer who he met in Granite City, who mentioned that he would be coming to Macross with the Wolf Squadron for training the next week and was hoping Rick would be available for a drink some night. Rick responded to the email positively and then after finishing some overdue paperwork, took to the skies for the morning patrol.

* * *

It was about 2pm that afternoon when Lisa was finally released from the hospital. Claudia was there waiting for her and Lisa was a little disappointed that Rick didn't show up, but also remembered that she had been pretty insistent that he not come and it wasn't his fault if he took her seriously. Claudia helped her settle back into her home and the two had a nice long chat before Claudia left Lisa for the night. Shortly after Claudia left, Lisa heard the doorbell ring. Thinking that Claudia must have forgotten something, Lisa hurried to the door and opened in. She was surprised to see Rick standing at her door with a bouquet of wild flowers and a large brown paper bag. "Rick, what are you doing here."

"Well, you told me not to come and take you home from the hospital, but you didn't say anything about me not coming to visit you afterwards."

"Rick..."said Lisa warningly."

"Please Lisa, just let me in, I brought you some things... and oh these are for you." Rick handed her the flowers and against her better judgment, Lisa opened the door wider to let Rick in. She muttered to herself, "Claudia will kill me if she finds out."

Rick just grinned at her, "well just don't tell her then."

Lisa didn't know why she let him in, she knew he wasn't hers and maybe it's because she had given up on loving him, that she knew she had to start building a new type of relationship with him, in light of their upcoming parenthood. Lisa followed Rick into her kitchen where he started pulling out different fruits and vegetables from a bag and a bundle wrapped in butcher paper. "What's all this Rick?"

Rick started talking while putting things away in Lisa's kitchen, "I was reading online about pregnancy and fetal development and a lot of focus was on nutrition in the early months. They said that most women before they try and get pregnant start taking prenatal vitamins and folic acid supplements and well...well, I just want to make sure this baby has the best...he already has the best mom for him and well I just want to do my part too."

Lisa couldn't help but burst into tears at Rick's statement. Rick crossed the kitchen to where Lisa had been standing by the kitchen entrance and pulled her into his arms and hugged her to him. "Shhhh, don't cry, I am so sorry Lisa for everything, I know everything is so screwed up right now but I promise I am going to make things right. I know it's going to take a lot for you to trust me again but please don't give up on me yet. I need you Lisa, I need you in my life and I want to be in both of your lives too." Rick knew it was too early to tell her how much he really loved her, especially with Minmei still living in his house. He had almost blurted it out but stopped when he realized it would sound insincere. At most he could do was show his commitment to her and the baby.

It took Lisa a while to stop crying as Rick's words alleviated a lot of the fears she had in her heart. She had hoped that he would want to have a part in the baby's life and thought about what would be next for the two of them after he left the room last night The fact that he hadn't run out of the hospital last night and the fact the he was here now gave her some hope that they could find a way to parent together. As for his claim that he needed her, well she wasn't ready for that and wasn't going to comment on it. She just thought, "we'll see..."

Rick pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to Lisa to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

"Let me just make you dinner tonight Lisa, please?" waving a hand at the ingredients that he had brought over. "I just want to make sure you are eating well. OK?"

"Rick, thank you for the offer, but you don't really have to do that, you know that I am perfectly capable of cooking something for myself... and shouldn't you be getting home soon?"

"I know you can make something for yourself, but you also have a tendency to skip meals too when you are deep into something. I can't always be around, but at least I can make it easier for you and have some food prepared that you can heat up and just eat." Rick just ignored her comment about whether or not he needed to be home or not.

Lisa sighed knowing when Rick got something into his head he could be incredibly stubborn and if he wanted to make her dinner, he was going to make her dinner. Lisa smiled at Rick and asked, "So what are we having?" That started Rick on another tangent about foods that are good for her and Lisa helped him with the dinner that he was making, broccolini sauteed with a little olive oil and fresh garlic, quinoa, a beautiful tri-tip that he pan roasted in the oven to medium rare, followed by cut up fresh fruit. Rick knew that Lisa didn't eat that much beef, but thought the extra protein and iron would be good for her. The two worked together on the meal and Rick was amazed how in sync they seemed to be with Lisa anticipating his needs in the kitchen. Lisa finished setting the table while Rick was slicing the tri-tip and the two sat down to their first meal together in a long time. They settled into old patters avoiding any personal topics and spent the time catching up on some of the gossip that they had heard from work, while not mentioning their own drama that was often part of the base gossip. "That's when I told Patterson that he had to go home, the smell from the skunk spray clung to him for two days even with all the showering and deodorizing he did. We even tried to get him to bath in some tomato paste from the mess hall hoping that would neutralize the smell."

Lisa laughed at Rick's story, as she had heard about what happened to Lt. Patterson but getting Rick's first hand account was much better than the details she had overheard. The two continued to talk through dinner and clean up and after the last dish was dried, the last pot put away, the leftovers stored in the refrigerator, Rick knew he had to return home. He signed, he didn't want to leave but knew he couldn't stay. Lisa yawned a bit and Rick knew it was getting late. He asked hopefully, "do you want some tea?" Lisa just yawned again and said, "No Rick, I am sorry, dinner was delicious, but I am exhausted and I have to report back to duty tomorrow, do you mind if we call it a night?" Lisa walked Rick to the door and he reluctantly took his leave. After saying goodbye, he walked back home in the cold night to his own place. He was hoping Minmei would not be waiting up for him. He had called her before he left base that he was not going to be home that night for dinner and while she seemed to be ok with it, he knew that she wasn't and he knew that he couldn't hold off having the conversation with her. Rick slipped into his house, the lights were off and the rooms dark, he assumed Minmei was asleep. He changed in the bathroom and pulled from the closet the extra blankets and pillows he had been using to make his bed on the couch and fell asleep. It was about 1am in the morning when he heard the front door open and a giggling Minmei stumbled in. She turned on the lights in the living room and said in a loud voice, "I'm home!" and then she giggled some more. Rick startled by her entrance, sat up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes said, "Minmei, I didn't realize you weren't home..." That was the worst thing that he could have said to her. Eyes flashing in anger, Minmei threw her bag at him.. "What do you mean you didn't realize I wasn't home, did you think I would just sit around and wait for you to come home Rick? You know, I can go out and have fun too you know and I did." Minmei giggled again drunkenly, pointed at him and said, "You're not the only man alive you know Rick Hunter. There are hundreds of guys out there willing to take your place." With that she stomped into the bedroom and shut the door. Rick just groaned and hope she was going to be ok and went back to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day when Rick went to base the gossip around him and Minmei was already in full force. Apparently Minmei went to a local bar where some of the pilots hung out hoping to find Rick as he didn't say where he was going to be and she thought that he went to go hang out with the guys. Not finding him there, the other pilots convinced her to have a drink with them as they assumed Rick may show up looking for his girlfriend. They had flattered Minmei quite a lot and took some photos with her and after a few drinks, they got a little worried when Rick didn't appear and Minmei was getting increasingly loud and flirty. Not wanting to get on the bad side of the Skull Squadron Leader, they wisely decided to put Minmei in a cab and sent her home. The speculation was rampant around what was going on between Rick and Minmei and where was he if he wasn't home and why didn't he come and get her.

Rick left his house the usual time to start patrols and tried to see if Minmei would wake up before he left but when he checked on her, she was passed out on the bed, still in the clothes from the night before. It wasn't until he was on patrol that Max opened communications with him asking about what happened the night before. Rick trusted Max but not wanting Lisa to be involved with all this, just said that there was some misunderstanding with Minmei last night regarding his plans and that he had some errands to take care of and that she had erroneously thought he went out for a guys night out. Rick got more ribbing from the pilots after he got back from patrol that day about the hold that Minmei had on him and the short lease she was keeping on him, if she was going to hunt him down like that if he ever planned to go out for drink with the guys. Rick just laughed weakly and took their joking trying not to cause more gossip about the situation. He knew it was going to get worse before it got better and was glad that no one saw him leave Lisa's house. Rick knew that he couldn't leave it any longer and decided that he had to talk to Minmei that night.

Rick came home to a sullen and pouting Minmei sitting on the couch. Rick greeted her and went to change when she responded to his greeting in silence. When he came out, Minmei was still sitting in the same place and Rick sighed and sat down next to her. He didn't know how to start but knew he had to, "Minmei, I'm sorry, I know I've been acting distant the last few days and I want you to know it isn't your fault. You've been really great about everything, but that day, the day of Khyron's attack, I realized something..."

"You're not in love with me are you?" Minmei asked in a low, sad voice.

Rick gazed at her and with a sad look, "Minmei, it's not like that at all... I care about you really I do...but it's more like a friend than anything else. I really didn't know how to tell you and I'm sorry that I have been such a jerk to you lately. You deserve someone better that loves you for you, but I don't think that I'm that guy."

"I don't understand Rick, we were so happy together, and we had that wonderful Christmas and New Year together, what changed?"

Rick grimaced, he didn't want to tell Minmei the truth yet he couldn't lie to her either, he spoke to her softly hoping that his explanation would make sense to her, "I was in a bad place too Minmei, and having you here for the holidays really made me remember how to laugh and have fun, but it was like a vacation from real life and when I got my feet back on the ground, I realized that life isn't all fun and games and that I have a responsibility to live up to and I want to fulfill those responsibilities."

Minmei thinking that this was just about the question she had been asking him, "Rick if this is about leaving the RDF, you don't have to give it up, I can support you if you want to stay in and continue to be a pilot."

"It's not just that Minmei," said Rick slowly.

Minmei understood by his Rick's tone that there was something else that he wasn't telling her and she knew what it was, "it's about her, isn't it?"

Rick was surprised that Minmei would even guess that there was someone else involved, wanting to keep Lisa and her pregnancy out of the discussion. When Rick didn't answer Minmei continued, "You know who I mean Rick, your commanding officer, what's her name, Lisa. I'm not stupid Rick, I know that she means something to you. Is that the reason why? Did you use me Rick to get back at her for something? Is that why she hasn't been around if you two are such good friends?" Minmei starting to get angry, yelled at him, "Answer me Rick!"

"It's not like that Minmei," Rick finally blurted out. "She...we... don't have that type of relationship, I was always so caught up in you, but you were never around and she was. She was there for me through everything Minmei, when I got shot down, when Roy died, during the last two years she's been by my side and supported me unconditionally, even when I couldn't do the same for her because I thought I was in love with you, but that day, that day when Khyron attacked and I saw the SDF-1 go down, all I could think about was her. I'm sorry Minmei, I hope you can forgive me. I never meant to hurt you." Rick felt relieved getting that off his chest and hoped that Minmei would be able to recover quickly from this.

Minmei was quiet, she felt sad, here she was again, alone with no where to go and no one to turn to. She felt helpless and wondered what she should do next. She whispered more to herself than to him, "Where do I go now? What do I do?"

Rick felt bad about Minmei, he knew she was still recovering from Kyle's leaving and softly suggested, "Maybe you can go back to your Uncle Max and Aunt Lena? I am sure they would take you in.."

Minmei shook her head, "I don't want to go back there, too many memories.. and besides Kyle is their son, I am sure I have enough money to find a small apartment somewhere... Rick, in the meantime can I stay here?" Minmei looked at him with pleading eyes, "Please... I promise it won't be long, I really have no where else to go." Rick didn't feel good about it but he didn't feel he had any choice. He stood up hoping to end the conversation, "just a couple of weeks Minmei..."

Minmei sat there pensively as Rick went to the kitchen and made some dinner for the two of them. When he returned to the living room with the two sandwiches he had made, Minmei was still sitting there twirling a lock of her hair. As he sat back down, Minmei looked at him and said, "I guess I am going to have to rethink about restarting my career then Rick."

Rick nodded his head, "That's great Minmei, you are truly an inspiration to others and your music brings a lot of joy to people, you shouldn't give it up."

Minmei smiled at the compliment, "I have a lot of making up to do if I want to get back in the game. Kyle ruined a lot of relationships I build and I don't know if anyone is going to be willing to take me on. I know I caused quite a bit of fuss too...Rick, I know this is a lot of ask of you, but could you not say anything about our relationship status to the press? I don't think my career could take it if it's found out that I got dumped by you."

Rick was speechless, he didn't know what to say.

Minmei hurried on, "It'll only be for a couple of months Rick, I know that I can get back on top and then when I'm there, we'll put out a statement saying that due to conflicting schedules we decided to end our relationship but that we continue to remain good friends.."

"I don't think that's a good idea Minmei, when you move out, just do so quietly and I am sure no one will be the wiser. I don't want to lie like that."

Minmei wasn't about to give up, "how about until I find a new place, can you keep quiet until then Rick, it's not going to take me long, I swear..."

Rick knowing it was a bad decision, finally relented, "Just a couple of weeks Minmei, that's it, I can't promise you more than that."

With that, Minmei nodded her head, finished her meal and removed herself to the bedroom to plan her comeback. Frustrated with the situation and hoping that he will be able to make this all right, Rick got ready for bed and settled into the couch for the night.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned clear and cold. Rick woke up early and not wanting to stay in the house longer than he needed to, changed and went for a long morning run. He finished up about 5 miles when he found himself near Lisa's home. It was still early and Rick looked around but didn't see anyone about. He didn't want to get caught knocking on Lisa's door so he sent her a text asking her if she was awake. He waited a few minutes and was rewarded with a text back, "Hunter, it's too early, go away". Rick smiled, he knew Lisa wasn't a morning person and sent back another text. "C'mon open the door, it's cold out." Rick didn't receive any other text from her, but noticed the drapes covering the front window of her house move. Rick knew she was checking to see if he was really out there and moved forward out of the trees across the street from her house so she could see him clearly. The curtains moved back and Rick ran across the street and up her porch just as she opened the door. "What are you doing here Rick? Couldn't you go and visit Max and Miriya or something, I am sure Dana is awake by now."

"It's more fun to bother you and anyway I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well couldn't you have waited, I've been so tired lately..."

Rick felt guilty about waking Lisa up, all he thought about wanting to see her that it overruled any other thought in his head. "I'm sorry, Lisa, I didn't think..."

"Hmm, you never do...well come on in at least I can give you a cup of coffee.."

Rick followed Lisa into the kitchen. Lisa wore a snow white micro fleece robe and house slippers, with pink and white flannel pajamas underneath. The house was a bit chilly still and as they walked by the thermostat Lisa turned it on before entering the kitchen and turning on the lights. Lisa opened a cabinet and pulled out her coffee maker. Rick went to help her and looked at her questioning. "Remember no coffee? The doctor said a cup a day would be ok but I decided I would just go without. I figured I can survive a couple of months without it. I put the coffee maker away to avoid temptation." Rick watched as Lisa pulled out his favorite coffee beans out of the freezer, measured out the beans, ground them up, poured the water into the marker and turned it on. Soon the warm smell of the coffee permeated the air. Lisa used a hot water dispenser to make herself a cup of tea and put in some pastries into the toaster oven to heat up. By the time the coffee was ready, the pastries was warmed up and Lisa pulled some cut fruit from the fridge to go with their breakfast. Rick thanked Lisa and wished that he had brought a sweatshirt with him. He had cooled down since his run and was feeling a bit chilly as the sweat dried on him. Lisa seemed to notice and left the kitchen returning with a large sweatshirt which she handed to him, "Here, you left this here once." Rick smiled and pulled his shirt over his head and pulled the sweatshirt on.

They didn't talk much, satisfied with just sitting together enjoying a hot beverage on a cold morning. Lisa didn't know if she was the stupidest woman in the world at this point and wondered why she was putting herself through this. She didn't want Rick just to want to be with her because of the baby and didn't want to get her hopes up by his visits. Rick watched her as he ate his pastry and fruit. He could tell by the way that she played with the pastry and pulled in her bottom lip with her teeth that she was deep in thought. He noticed she didn't eat much except for some of the fruit and wondered if she was feeling well. It made him a bit sad that he didn't know her symptoms enough to see if she was feeling unwell or not. Lisa finally noticing that Rick had stopped eating and was watching her, offered to pour him another cup of coffee. She got up from her seat and put her hand out to take his cup when he put his hand over hers and used his thumb to caress the top of her hand. "Lisa..."

Lisa felt tears coming to her eyes yet she couldn't pull her hand away. "Rick, please don't...don't say anything, you shouldn't even be here right now. I know you feel bad or responsible for all this and I'm glad that you want to share in this with me, but I can't do this right now. Can you just give me some time?"

"Lisa, about Minmei... I want to explain..."

"Stop. Just stop right there." Lisa nailed Rick with that look of hers that everyone dreaded. She was at that moment the Ice Queen. "We had one night together Rick, that's all, and the one date that you asked me on, you stood me up to go meet Minmei. You tried for a few weeks to apologize to me but I was damn mad and then Minmei moved into your house. What am I supposed to think Rick? And now you are sitting here, making me dinner and coming to my house for morning coffee, but if I am not mistaken, I don't think anything's changed. Is she still living with you?"

"Yes, but it's not what you think.."

Lisa wanted to slap him at that point but continued on, "Did you sleep with her?"

Rick knew he couldn't lie and said in a low ashamed voice, "Yes, but I never should have..."

Lisa shut him up with another look, a look Rick hadn't seen since his early days as a rookie and knew that what was coming was bad. Lisa leaned across the table and looked him in the eye. "Get out Hunter and don't come back, you can come back when the baby is born, maybe by then I won't be so mad at you and if you see me on base, I suggest you turn around and go the other way. I'm going back to bed, let yourself out okay?"

Lisa turned to walk out of the kitchen and was about to leave when Rick said from behind her. "I'm not going to give up on you Lisa, I know you don't believe me now or trust me, but I know how I feel about you and I'm going to do everything I can to prove it to you."

Lisa didn't say anything else, she just walked out the kitchen, through her house and entering her bedroom she slammed her bedroom door closed and locked it for good measure. Lisa climbed back into her semi warm bed, pulled the covers over her head and waited til she heard the front door close before she allowed her tears to fall. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been the last couple of days and vowed to not let him make her cry again.

It wasn't until past noon that Lisa got up again. It was amazing how refreshed she felt even with the confrontation that morning. Lisa rose from her bed, made some eggs for herself and ate them as she read the morning news on her tablet. She puttered a bit in her garden and made a list of things she needed to buy from the grocery store. Lisa still wasn't eating much as she still felt nauseous for part of the day and wondered why they called it morning sickness, when it wasn't always relegated to the morning. Dr. Wu didn't seem too concerned and said that a little weight loss might even be expected in cases like these but to give it time and to call if she couldn't keep anything down at all. Lisa settled down for the afternoon with a warm fire, fresh hot pot of tea and some crackers, and her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, when the phone rang. Eager to start the book and lose herself in the world of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, she answered the phone a little a bit annoyed, "Captain Hayes here"

"Well, Lizzie that isn't any way to answer a phone," said the voice on the other end. There were only a few people who dared or had the privilege to call Lisa by that nickname and Lisa laughed out loud when she realized who it was.

"Jack, is that you?"

"Yes it is Lizzie,"

"Oh stop calling me that, where are you?"

"Well I'm still in Granite City for now, but didn't know if you heard that I am coming out to Macross for a few weeks for some training and some meetings with some of you muckity mucks."

Lisa knew that some squads were coming for training was thrilled with the news that Jack's squad would be one of the ones to come in first, it would be good to see Jack again. "When will you get here?" she asked.

"I'll arrive on Monday with the squad and will be quite tied up with them for most of the week. I'm hoping we can get together and have dinner one night, if that is ok with you and catch up on old times. How about next Friday...unless you have other plans?"

Lisa laughed again, "No plans Jack, Friday sounds great. I'll see you around base."

"Sounds good Lizzie, I'll call you when I get in ok? Take care now and I'll see you next week." The two said their goodbye and as Lisa hung up the receiver, she smiled, it would be good to see Jack Archer again.

Lisa thought back to the first time that she had met Jack Archer. It was at a military Christmas Ball when Lisa was 15. She hadn't wanted to go but her father had asked that she attend as they didn't get to spend much time together and her father wanted to introduce her to some of his friends. Even at 15, Lisa exuded poise and grace that belied her age and with the formal dress and makeup, Lisa looked older than her 15 and was mistaken for a young lady entering college. The Admiral was proud of his daughter and the way that she handled herself that night. He knew it was a boring party for her but he wanted to show her off. While he knew she was young, he didn't think it was too early to get her noticed by his friends who had sons and while he would never begrudge Lisa a love match, if she happened to meet someone from a military family even better.

It wasn't until almost 11 that night when Lisa was able to get away for a few minutes and get some fresh air on the balcony. It was a large balcony and in one corner laughing and drinking were a group of young enlisted officers and their guests. Lisa didn't pay much attention to them, as she just wanted a few moments to catch her breath and to rest her feet a bit. Her high heel shoes were not the most comfortable and what Lisa wanted most was to take them off but settled for sitting down. She found a little bench away from the group and with a sigh sat down. It was chilly that night but after the stuffiness of the ballroom, Lisa didn't seem to notice. It was Jack who had first saw Lisa sitting on the balcony bench. He smiled and and tapped one of his friends on the shoulder and motioned with his head to her.

Jack's friend had smiled and whispered a "wish me luck" before approaching Lisa. That was the night Lisa met Karl Riber. Karl had approached Lisa and introduced himself and asked if he could sit with her. Lisa flattered that the young officer approached her, said "yes" and and scooted over on the bench to make room for him. Unbeknownst to Lisa, Karl had been caught staring at Lisa more than a couple of times at dinner by Jack and had debated with Jack whether he should try and get an introduction to her. Knowing she was Admiral Hayes daughter, he couldn't recall much about her and wondered if she had a boyfriend and finding her out here away from her father was a godsend. They spent about 30 minutes getting to know each other before Jack came up to them and Karl introduced Lisa to his best friend Jack. They were laughing and joking when Admiral Hayes came out to the balcony looking for his daughter, he wasn't happy to find her alone on the balcony with the two young men and gave them a stern look before taking Lisa by the hand and leading her back in. Karl was a bit disappointed that he wasn't able to say goodbye to Lisa and it was Jack who ended up giving Lisa Karl's email address when he ran into her at the end of the night.

Karl had been disappointed when he hadn't received an email from her the next day but a week later was all smiles when Lisa sent him an instant message one night. Both Karl and Jack were surprised when they found out that Lisa was younger than they thought and while it initially was a concern of Karl's, he couldn't help but continue his emails and late night calls to Lisa. There was something about her that drew him to her and the two fell in love. Jack was not initially supportive of the relationship, citing their age difference as his concern, but was slowly won over by Lisa's maturity and Karl's commitment to her. Jack ended up being the one that delivered to Lisa her engagement ring from Karl as he hadn't been able to afford one for her before he had left for Mars, but had put one away in layaway and entrusted Jack with the payments and delivery of the ring. Jack also acted as big brother to Lisa while she attended the academy and made it known without her knowledge that she was definitely off limits but still made sure that she had fun at the academy while she worked hard to graduate so she could be assigned to Mars to meet up with Karl. Lisa remembered how Jack had been there after they received news of the attack on Sara Base and the deaths of those who tried a last minute escape from the base. They both mourned for Karl and were glad to have the other to talk to and use for support but it had taken Lisa a much longer time to accept the finality of Karl's passing.

Jack and Lisa had said farewell to each other before she was assigned to Macross and kept in touch via email until the time the Zentraedi attacked. She had been relieved to find out that Jack had survived Dolza's attack as his squad had been assigned to a carrier in the South Pacific at the time of the attack and sustained minimal damage and during the reconstruction period was reassigned to Granite City. His visit to the Macross would be the first time that Lisa would be seeing him again and she was glad for it as she needed her friends right now.


	10. Chapter 10

The next week was an exciting and busy one at the base, as a few squads from the North East Quadrant were in town for some training exercises and conferences. Admiral Gloval had implemented some reforms across the forces and also worked on new training materials that were desperately needed due to the lack of forces and number of new recruits. Even with the very recent destruction of the SDF-1 and SDF-2, Gloval didn't want to wait to implement the changes and insisted that the event go forward. Captain Hayes had contributed greatly to the changes as she was a top graduate of the Military Academy and was recognized as a top-notch tactical strategist. It was that background, coupled with her practical experience of the last three years that made her input so valuable to the changes being made. Captain Hayes recommendations did not come solely from her but she had gathered feedback and info from Rick, Max and Miriya who had been able to give her information based on the feedback from the pilots. Fours squads Wolf, Vermillion, White and Skull from Macross Base were the first squads schedule to attend the training and lectures for the next couple of weeks. There were a few war games scheduled that everyone was looking forward to participating in especially now that the actual threat that Khyron represented was gone but they knew that they still needed to be vigilant against other pockets of rebel Zentraedi.

The first couple of days that the squads arrived were spent getting them settled into the military housing and getting their VF-1's checked over and upgraded using new technology and weaponry developed by the Dr. Lang and Breetai. Before the pilots were allowed back into the VF-1s, they were required to attend presentations by Dr. Lang and complete a certain number of hours in the modified simulators to have the pilots get used to the software changes and weapons changes that were made. The pilots were pleased with the improved laser targeting system, armor and the increase in rounds that they the Veritech's could hold and the updated software included better radar systems, communications, and extended optical zoom. The upgrades were minor compared to the upgrades going into the new VF-4s that were being prototyped but would help keep the VF-1s in service until the time the VF-4s could be put into production and deployed to all the squads.

Many of the pilots of the other squads were happy to be reunited with old friends that they had served with on the SDF-1 and newer pilots were in awe of meeting some of their heroes from the space war. Rick, Max and Miriya were all in high demand and they also had a good time socializing with the newer pilots and forging new friendships. It wasn't until the third day in that Rick ran into Jack Archer who had helped with the Minmei and Kyle incident in Granite City and helped escort the two to their concert while Rick and his team had pursued the attackers. "Hey Rick, finally, I can't believe that this is the first time we've gotten to say hi to one another." The two shook hands and continued their conversation.

"Jack, it's good to see you again and thanks for your help the last time, I don't think I really got to thank you for that."

"Not a problem, I can understand why you had such a personal interest in making sure Minmei was alright, I heard that you two are a couple and living together now. Good one Hunter..." Jack slapped Rick on the back, jovially.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," said Rick. "So you got any plans while you're out here?"

"As a matter of fact I do, going to have dinner with lovely lady on Friday night, any suggestions on where to take her?"

Rick didn't really know that much about any of the good restaurants in Macross, and trying to be helpful, said, "Well I heard Papillion is good..."

"Hey Rick, that's a great idea, Lizzie loves French food. I hope I can get a reservation on such late notice."

"Oh I am sure it wouldn't be hard for a guy like you Archer, you can probably go in and charm your way in"

"Ha, ha that maybe true but I am sure Lizzie would prefer me to get reservations the conventional route and not rely on my charms to get us a table. I'll check into it. Thanks for the recommendation."

The two chatted for a few more minutes before they had to move on to their next activities. It wasn't until the afternoon that Rick saw Archer in the large meeting hall where Captain Hayes was going to give a talk and presentation mostly for the new recruits on the tactical maneuvers and air strategies that were used during the year long travel back to Earth from space. Unfortunately Rick got there a bit late and was forced to find a seat in the back. He was surprised to see the presentation so well attended by not only the pilots but other military personnel around the base. When Captain Hayes was introduced there was an appreciative round of applause for her and Rick watched as Lisa took to the lectern, introducing herself to the crowd and explained the role that she played on the bridge during the battles the SDF-1 faced. Using different mediums to display and present her topic, Lisa kept the room enthralled with the retelling of certain battles and the decisions that were made during key points in the fights. She discussed tactical strategies used and downplayed her own role in the situations preferring to credit the success of the battles on the pilots, destroid operators and others who were responsible for executing the plans that came from the SDF-1. Rick felt so proud of her as Lisa received a standing ovation at the end of her presentation and the question and answer section was extended by at least half an hour to deal with the number of questions that came at her. Rick stayed as long as he could but had a simulator session scheduled that he couldn't miss. He heard a number of pilots commenting on the presentation and a few who went a bit further and commented on her youth and beauty as well. Those pilots got a few glares from Rick who realized they had been overheard and they quickly left the lecture hall. As he was leaving, he noticed Jack Archer approaching Lisa and frowned as Lisa seemed to greet the Captain warmly and wondered if they knew each other from before.

With all the training and meetings during the week, Rick came home exuberant but exhausted and fell asleep soon after coming home. As for Minmei, she kept herself to the bedroom when he came home and they barely talked only to convey the barest amount of information. It was an uncomfortable situation and Rick couldn't wait for her to find a place of her own. Living with Minmei reminded him everyday of his mistakes and started to resent her presence in his home. He wanted her gone so he could try and make things right with Lisa and felt bad that he felt that way since it wasn't really Minmei's fault either. It was on Thursday when he returned home that Minmei came out to greet him. She seemed nervous and Rick felt bad that she felt that way and so he smiled at her hoping to ease her mind, "Hi Minmei, how are things going?"

"Good, Rick, good... umm, I was wondering, but do you think we can still go out to dinner tomorrow night? I heard that there might be a famous director that is going to be there tomorrow night and it would be great for my career if I could possibly meet him. I know it's a lot to ask but I hope you can do this for me."

Rick felt it was the least he could do for her and said, "Sure Minmei that's not a problem, what time is our reservation at?"

"It's at 8pm, if that is ok with you, um, you'll need to wear a suit if that is ok with you."

Rick laughed and said supportively, "Yeah don't worry Minmei, I'll clean up for this. We'll have a great time, the director will love you and you'll be able to jumpstart your career."

Happy that Rick agreed, Minmei gave Rick a hug and then ran into the bedroom to make her plans for the next day.

A few streets away, the same conversation was happening over the phone. Jack had called Lisa to confirm their date for the next day and Lisa picked up the phone on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Lizzie?"

Lisa laughed, "Yes, who else would answer my phone?"

Jack laughed, "Well I don't know who you could have over."

"Sorry Jack, there is no one in my life right now," said Lisa, at least not yet she thought as she patted her belly.

"Lizzie dear, we are going to have to change that, Karl wouldn't have wanted you to be alone, you know that."

"I know Jack, I just haven't really met anyone yet"

"Hmm, I don't know what is wrong with the men on this base, they don't seem to have any taste."

"Jack you know it's not that, I haven't been the most receptive to them either. "

"Ok, ok, well after today's presentation that may change, I heard quite a few compliments directed your way and it sounds like half the pilots are in love with you."

"Only half?"

"Well you have to remember the other half know how you really are..."

At that the two of them laughed and Jack asked Lisa if they were still on for Friday night. "I got a great recommendation for a fancy restaurant and was able to snag us a table at 8pm. So dress up and let's show this town how two military brats can clean up."

The two chatted for a few more minutes and confirmed a pick up time for the next day and after they hung up, Lisa went to her closet to pick something to wear for the next night.


	11. Chapter 11

Friday went by quickly and Rick arrived home around 6pm to get ready for dinner that night. He hadn't had much time to think about what to do about Lisa and there wasn't much opportunity to talk to her the past week with the number of people that the base was hosting. Minmei was already in the bedroom getting ready for night and Rick quickly showered and shaved. Minmei had set out his suit already in the living room and after getting ready and changed he sat and waited for Minmei to come out. It was close to 7:30pm before she opened the bedroom door and came out. Rick thought Minmei was a bit over dressed for a dinner but he figured he didn't know much about what celebrities wore. Minmei was dressed in an electric blue strapless sequined top with a feathered skirt. Her hair was curled and her makeup was done in a sultry sexy manner.

Rick paid her a compliment and escorted to the black town car that she had hired to take them to dinner that night. The drive to the city was not long and Rick spent most of the time listening to Minmei talk about her day and the outfit that she was wearing and how she had pulled in a few favors to get it. When they pulled up to the restaurant, he was surprised to see the paparazzi waiting outside. Minmei fluffed her dress and hair, ready to make a grand entrance and wasn't disappointed. Rick got out of the car first and then reached in to help Minmei alight from the car. He then moved out of the way of the photographers that started to swarm around Minmei and Rick. Knowing that she was the real focus of the paparazzi, Rick tried to get out of way. The paparazzi were happy with that for a few moments then encouraged Rick to take her hand so they could take some photos of the hot couple of the moment. Minmei sensing Rick's reluctance to participate, sidled up to him and smiling up at him and said behind her smile, "Please Rick, do it for me, I really need your help if I want to make a comeback." Rick just nodded his head, took her arm, and smiled to the photographers, while Minmei continued to cling to him and smile and wave at the paparazzi. He stood for a few photos and then ushered her into the restaurant. The maitre'd welcomed them to Papillion and led them to a table right in the middle of the restaurant. The maitre'd pulled the chair out for Minmei and sat her in a position where she had a full view of the restaurant and could be seen by all. He handed them the menus and the wine list to peruse and then excused himself while a waiter came by and filled their water goblets. Rick picked up the menu and looked over the selections, noting that there was no prices next to the entrees. He sighed know that this dinner was going to cost him a pretty penny, and he was glad that he wasn't much of a spender. In the meantime, Minmei had called over a waiter and ordered a bottle of champagne which they brought over and poured into a flute for her. Rick needing something a little stronger, ordered a gin and tonic. He normally didn't drink because of patrol duties but didn't know if he could get through the night without it.

Outside the restaurant, the paparazzi were still hanging out, Minmei had someone plant the tip that she was going to be there with Rick and as it had been a slow week in the entertainment news business, the paparazzi were out in full force. Some of the photographers left after Rick and Minmei made their entrance, while others waited hoping that there might be another celebrity sighting. They didn't have to wait long when a slick silver Mercedes Mclaren pulled up to the valet. The paparazzi didn't recognize the Captain who was wearing his dress uniform that exited the driver side, but photographed him anyway as he was quite handsome. It was his passenger that he handed out of the car that had the paparazzi bulbs flashing. Everyone in Macross knew who Captain Lisa Hayes was, one of the heroes of the space war. While not usually a target for the paparazzi, all eyes were focused on her tonight as she stepped from the car. Usually seen in her white officer's uniform or her dress uniform for official events, it was a very different Captain that they saw tonight. Lisa had let her long hair down, slightly curled with a tousled look. She wore a right sided single shoulder long black dress column dress with a slit cut up to the her left thigh and strappy heels. Archer thought it was hilarious that the photographers started calling her name in order to get her attention and get a good shot of her. As he took her arm under his to escort her into the restaurant, he whispered to her and said, "Smile Lizzie, it can't kill you and anyways, it might be kinda fun."

Not wanting to spoil Jack's fun, Lisa willingly posed for the cameras flashing a bright smile and showing a bit of leg as they walked toward the restaurant. Both her and Jack posed for a few photos together and Lisa gave Jack's name to the paparazzi to get back at him. They finally made it into the restaurant where the maitre'd taking into account the guests, showed them to a quiet, elegant table surrounded by a screen and plants for privacy on the right side of the restaurant.

Minmei had been scanning the room while she waited for the waiters to take her order, she was sipping on her champagne and about spit it out when she saw Lisa enter the room being escorted to a table by a very good looking officer. Minmei was glad that Rick was not facing the entrance and missed their entrance. Minmei who wanted to get back at Rick a bit, leaned forward and said, "Rick, isn't that your friend Lisa?" She watched smugly as Rick looked at her and then turned around to see Lisa being seated by the maitre'd. He couldn't really see her companion who had his back turned to him but Rick noted the dress uniform before he sat down and Rick wondered who Lisa was with. Minmei decided to help him out, "I don't know who he was but he kinda looked a bit like you Rick." as she took another drink of her champagne. At that point the waiter came and took their order and Rick feeling a bit uneasy ordered another drink.

Lisa and Jack were still laughing about their gauntlet run through the paparazzi and speculated who they were really here for. Jack just laughed and said, "Maybe it's Minmei and Rick, he's the one that I got the restaurant recommendation from."

Lisa paled at the thought. She hoped that they would not be there as it would make for a very uncomfortable situation for her. Jack noticed her countenance change and said, "Something wrong there Liz? You ok, you got a bit pale there."

"No, no everything's ok" reassured Lisa. At that point a waiter came to take their drink order and Jack tried to convince Lisa to share a bottle of wine with him, but she declined. Not wanting to push her, he ordered a glass of red wine while she ordered sparkling water. While waiting for the drinks to arrive they looked at the menu and decided to go with the chef's choice, willing to try something different that night. After they ordered, Jack paid Lisa a compliment, "Lizzie you do look beautiful tonight, I'm a very lucky man to be seen with you... so tell me, what the hell is going on with you?"

Lisa shocked by his question just looked at Jack with an open mouth.

"I heard some of the rumors about you and Captain Hunter and I know he's with that little songbird now, but I want to ask you what's the truth of it. Did that idiot really ask you out in front of the whole base and then stand you up?"

"I don't really want to talk about it Jack."

"Lizzie, you don't get to get out of this one, it's me you're talking to and I know something's wrong. Why don't you just tell me what happened."

At that point the waiter returned with their drinks and to take their order and after Jack ordered their dinner, he turned his attention back to his friend.

Lisa just sighed and said, "Ok I'll make it brief." and basically told him what happened, leaving out the part that her and Rick slept together that one rainy night and that she was pregnant. She preferred to keep it a secret as long as possible even from her good friend.

Archer couldn't believe that Rick had really been so stupid to pick Minmei over Lisa but could see how the young pilot could be infatuated with Minmei. Not knowing the full story he let the issue drop, but decided that he would say something to Rick privately if he got a chance. He patted Lisa's hand and said, "I'm sorry, he hurt you Liz, I know it hurts." Lisa just nodded her head and turned the conversation to Jack's stay in Macross. "I'm having a great time Liz, reminds me of the academy and the bonds that you form through these types of training, so it's been good. The changes that you and Gloval and Lang have suggested are practical and will help relieve the over work of some the sectors and the better armor will keep our people safer. The only thing I hate, is the military beds! I can never get over it, I swear I feel every bed spring."

Lisa laughed while Jack continued to recount every night of misery on the beds that they were using in the housing facilities for the visiting pilots. Lisa hesitated before making the offer, but decided to plunge forward knowing that it would only be for two weeks. "Jack, if you'd like you can stay at my place. I have an extra room with a very good mattress in there and it's yours if you want to stay there."

Jack leaped at the chance, "Are you sure it's ok, I feel bad for ditching my men but I really can't stand sleeping there another night." Lisa assured Jack that it would be fine and that others had asked to stay with friends during the training and that as long as he was on base on time it was fine. The two made the arrangements for Jack to show up Saturday afternoon and stay for the next two weeks.

At that point their dinner arrived and the two enjoyed the wonderfully prepared meal. The ingredients were fresh and the smell so appealing, Lisa enjoyed it more than any other meal she had in the last two months and hoped that this baby wasn't going to be demanding this type of gourmet meal during the pregnancy. As their meal ended and before dessert was served, Lisa and Jack could hear the musicians tuning their instruments and as they played their opening song, some of the restaurant patrons took to the dance floor. Archer watching the dancing, called a waiter over and whispered something in his ear and passed him a tip. Lisa arched her eyebrow at him and gave him a questioning look. "What are you up to Archer?" Jack just laughed, stood up and bowed to Lisa. "Just reliving old times... care to dance?" Lisa deciding to trust her friend, put her hand in his and allowed him to help her rise from the table As they walked towards the dance floor, Lisa heard the familiar melody of Johann Strauss's "Artist's Life"

"Oh no you didn't, Jack." Jack just grinned and led Lisa to the middle of the floor. This was the song that Lisa and Jack had danced to at her debutante's ball. Karl wasn't able to make it back from Mars and insisted that she still make her debut, even thought she didn't see the purpose of doing it since she was already engaged to Karl. Karl had asked her to do it for her father who wanted to formally present his daughter to society as he thought it was something her mother would have wanted and didn't think it would hurt Lisa to do some networking even though she had decided to have a career in the military. Jack had been her escort that night and endured the dance lessons with her to prepare for that one night.

Most of the other dancers gave way to the striking looking couple and cleared the floor. The lighting around the room had been dimmed while the dance floor was spotlighted and Minmei and Rick finishing their dessert noticed that the other diners seemed to be captivated by something on the dance floor. Rick noticing Minmei had stopped eating and was looking over his shoulder to the dance floor turned his chair to see what was going on. Rick had a clear view of Lisa standing in the middle of the ballroom, with a tall gentleman bowing to her as the music started. Lisa curtsied and stepped into the man's arms and they started to dance the graceful, whirling waltz. It wasn't until the first turn that Rick realized the man that Lisa was dancing with was his friend Captain Archer and a stab of jealousy burned through him. Rick had tried to see who Lisa had been dining with all night but never had reason to walk to that side of the restaurant to see who she was with. He watched as Jack led Lisa through the dance and their dizzying turns. Her column style dress didn't allow for such turns as the dance called for but Jack adapted and spun Lisa faster and closer during the dance to make up for her limited range of motion. The other patrons clapped for them as they executed a few quick whirling steps and as the dance ended he could see Lisa smiling and laughing up at Jack and wishing desperately that it was him she was smiling at.

Jack was about to exit the dance floor when he heard his name being called and looked over and saw Francisco Vega, a well known clothing designer that he had met through other friends of his. Jack led Lisa over to say hello to his friend and that was when Minmei made her move. She had seen Francisco Vega sitting close to her table but didn't have a way to introduce herself. When she saw Jack walking over to Francisco and introduce Lisa, she thought this was her chance. Rick watching as Lisa and Jack started to head his way, panicked a bit as he didn't want Lisa to see him with Minmei and turned his chair around hoping not to be noticed. It was Minmei though who grabbed her champagne glass and with a strength he didn't know she had, Minmei grabbed Rick's arm and literally dragged him to the one place he didn't want to be. Francisco and Jack and Lisa were talking when Minmei walked up to them with Rick and said, "Captain Hayes is that you?" Lisa recognizing the dulcet tones on Minmei, turned from her conversation with Francisco, kept calm and turned to greet Minmei with with a forced smile. "Hello, Minmei.. Rick." Without waiting for a introduction from Lisa, she turned to Francisco and said, "Hi, I'm Minmei, I'm a big fan of your work Mr. Vega." Francisco and Jack just shared a look before Francisco turned to Minmei and said, "Ah nice to meet you, I take it you are a friend of the two captains here?" and started to engage Minmei in a frivolous conversation about how she knew Lisa and Jack. She admitted that she knew Lisa slightly from the SDF-1 but that she didn't know Jack yet and introduced herself to him as well.

Jack surprised by the ambush, put a protective arm around Lisa and pulled her closer to his side as he acknowledged Rick with a handshake. "Rick, good to see you thanks for the restaurant recommendation, you should have mentioned that you were going to be dining here tonight." he said lightly in a rebuking manner.

"Minmei made the plans, I didn't really have anything to do with it. Uh, I didn't know that you two knew each other that well." at least well enough for the two of you to go out to dinner, and why do you have your arm around her...and why is Lisa allowing it... thought Rick.

Even though Rick was addressing Jack, Jack could tell that Rick was distracted and was not focused on him but was looking towards Lisa to respond. Jack forcing Rick's focus back on him answered for the two of them said, "Yes, Lisa and I go backaways.." Jack frowned when Rick reached out to Lisa like he wanted to touch her but caught himself and put his hand down and said, "Hi Lisa, you look beautiful tonight. How are you feeling, is... is everything going ok?"

Lisa just answered curtly, "Everything is just fine Hunter, you don't need to be concerned."

Francisco eager to end his conversation with Minmei, turned to Lisa and said, "Lisa, may I also pay you a compliment. I was quite entranced by you when you walked in and thought that you were quite the loveliest lady here but didn't want to intrude on you and Archer here. May I ask - your dress tonight? It's Chanel if I am not mistaken is it not."

"Yes,you are quite correct Francisco, it was my mother's dress actually. I had it altered by their design house to have it updated before the SDF-1 had taken off, and they did a beautiful job modernizing it."

"They did do a wonderful job but a dress like this could only be carried off by one that has such presence as yourself." Minmei not enjoying being ignored by the designer and definitely didn't like the fact that he complimented Lisa over her! Twice! Why Lisa was like 10 years older than her! Of course Minmei knew she was more beautiful than the Captain. Minmei made another attempt to get the attention back to her. "Yes Lisa, your dress is beautiful, but I don't know how you could wear something so old, you should get something new like from Mr. Vega's collection." Turning back to Mr. Vega, Minmei got excited and said, "I saw this wonderful red silk top that you had designed and it would be wonderful to model a piece like that, I am thinking of working on a new concert, maybe you can help me design some costumes for it?" Minmei getting more excited about the idea started to talk faster about her ideas. Forgetting the champagne flute she held in her hands, Minmei made a wild gesture to emphasize a point and accidentally let go of the flute in her hands. The flute flew towards Lisa and crashed right at her feet and the shards would have cut her if Archer had not responded and pulled Lisa out of the way causing her to stumble a bit and almost fall due to the unexpected motion. Jack was able to catch her before she fell down and Rick watching the whole thing happen in slow motion, snapped when he saw Lisa stumble and ran over to see if she was alright. Jack was already helping her up when Rick came up to check on her saying a bit frantically, "Are you alright Lisa?"

Lisa checking her dress to make sure the there was no glass fragments or champagne on it just waved him away and said, "It's fine, no harm done." but Rick continued to hover over her, until he realized that she was fine and that others were looking at him. Rick angry at the carelessness of Minmei and embarrassed by her forward behavior with the designer, pulled Minmei back from the group and said a bit angrily, "Be a little more careful please, she could have fallen and gotten hurt. I think it's time we excused ourselves Minmei, don't you think." Rick turned to the group and said his goodbyes and led Minmei back to the their table to retrieve Minmei's purse and wrap and settle the bill. Jack and Francisco just shrugged and Jack said jokingly, "Doesn't seem like everything is perfect in wonderland." They chatted for a few more minutes with Francisco and Jack made plans to see him again, before excusing themselves to finish their own dessert.

The ride home between Rick and Minmei was quiet. Rick was pensive, thinking of Lisa and who Jack was to her and Minmei was mad, furious that Rick pulled her away just as her and Mr. Vega were getting along. She decided to needle Rick about Lisa by asking about Captain Archer and decided to start by apologizing. It always seem to work with Kyle and she decided that Rick and him probably weren't too different. "Rick, I am really sorry about the accident, I didn't mean for the glass to fly out like that."

Rick sighed, he knew he over reacted but seeing Lisa with Jack was like a kick in the gut. He didn't remember the last time he felt this way and even the time that he saw Minmei and Kyle kiss on the SDF-1 didn't feel like it hurt this way. "I'm sorry too Minmei, I know it was an accident." Minmei still mad just smiled at Rick's words and asked, "was that the same Captain Archer that escorted Kyle and I to our concert at Granite City?" Rick nodded affirmatively and then she continued and said to Rick, "he's quite good looking, I wish I had remembered and thanked him properly. Are they dating? They looked very cozy with one another." she said smugly.

Rick didn't really answer Minmei, he feeling miserable about the whole night and Minmei just chatted on about how much Francisco seemed to like her and that she hoped that the paparazzi got some good photos for the paper. Rick was happy when they reached home and Minmei finally went to the bedroom for the night. Although he was tired, Rick couldn't go to sleep and instead replayed in his head the incidences of the last couple of months that led him to his current situation and wondered what he had seen in Miss Macross and how much she had changed over the years too.

As Jack drove Lisa home that night, he could see that she was lost in thought. Not wanting to intrude, he said lightly, "Are you alright? I wouldn't have taken you there if I had know they were going to be there."

Lisa shook her head, "No, no don't worry about it, I've already have enough time to adjust to them being together, it doesn't bother me as much." Lisa hated lying to her friend. She knew that she was still in love with Rick and didn't know how she was going to stop. She realized that she was numb to it, that the hurt was so deep that seeing them together couldn't hurt her more. It was similar to the wall she build around herself after Karl had died, the one that Rick had slowly chipped away at even thought he didn't know it.

"Why him Liz.. there are a ton of guys that would probably love a chance to be with you."

Lisa sighed, "You know what it was like Jack after Karl died. There were men that were interested in me, but they were also interested in me because I was the Admiral's daughter, because their parents told them that aligning themselves with me would be a benefit. None of them were really interested in me. Not like Karl was. He wanted to know everything about me, my father's position didn't matter to him and he didn't care about the family money either."

Jack just nodded his head in agreement, Karl had been his best friend for so long and knew the love that he had carried for Lisa. "Karl was a good man, the best of men Liz.. I still miss him too. But that doesn't answer the question...why Hunter?"

Lisa was silent for a few minutes before answering, "Rick **is **very different from Karl and I'll admit I had a hard time getting along with him initially but once I got to know him, I found that underneath that brash cocky pilot, is someone with a good heart, who's loyal to his friends and was one of the few people that actually see me not just the uniform or title. I know that he cares about me, but Minmei, well he's been in love with her for so long that I don't think he's capable of seeing anyone else in his life."

Jack not wanting to correct Lisa just made a "hmmm" noise. He could definitely sense that there was something going on between Rick and Lisa even if the two of them weren't admitting it

Lisa not wanting to continue the conversation, asked Jack what time she should expect him the next day and what they should do the rest of the weekend and the two friends outlined their plans for the next two weeks.


	12. Chapter 12

Rick awoke the next morning to MinMei's squealing as she ran out of her bedroom, tablet in hand. "Look, look, we made the entertainment news last night! I knew that was the right dress to wear last night. Ooo, I'm going to have to make some calls. I know that this is really going to jump start my career." Minmei ran back into her room to make sure her cell phone was on and Rick picked up the tablet that Minmei had left on the coffee table. Indeed on the front page of the entertainment section was a color photo of Minmei looking quite stunning in her electric blue dress. He scrolled down and the next photo was one of him and Minmei with Minmei looking up at him. If he looked at the photo from an unbiased view, it did look like him and Minmei were in love and Rick groaned knowing that it wasn't going to help his cause with Lisa. Continuing to scroll down, he read the article that accompanied the photos and realized that it was more of an gossip piece than just the usual Minmei sighting that was usually printed.

"Trouble in Paradise?"

Last night New Marcross's favorite couple was spotted at French restaurant hot spot Papillion. While Miss Minmei and Captain Hunter came in looking like a couple in love sources inside the restaurant say that the couple was less than loving. They noted that Captain Hunter looked distracted for most of the evening and Miss Minmei spent most of the time talking to the other patrons around her and drinking an expensive bottle of champagne on her own. It was at the end of the night that drew the most attention, when Minmei, during an introduction to famed clothing designer Francisco Vega lost a grip of her champagne glass, which broke on the floor almost causing injury to Captain Lisa Hayes who was saved by her date, the charming Captain Jack Archer. Captain Hunter seemed quite concern with Captain Hayes and quickly left the restaurant with an embarrassed Minmei in tow. We hope that Captain Hunter wasn't too hard on the sweetheart of Macross but would advise her to try and keep the drinking to a minimum.

On another note, Captain Lisa Hayes was also seen last night at Papillion looking hot, hot, hot! The usually serious Captain was rocking a reworked vintage Chanel dress showing off a body we didn't know she had. Check her out for yourself in the photo below. Her dinner companion we are told, is Captain Jack Archer from Granite City and here in town for training exercises. The two danced their way into our hearts with a beautifully executed waltz and makes us wonder a bit more about our lovely Captain Hayes.

Rick groaned as he finished the article and slid the text up to see a picture of Lisa looking as the article said "hot". In the photo, Lisa was stepping forward, with her left leg peeking out from the slit in her dress and she was looking straight into the camera with a open smile. Rick examined the photo carefully looking for any signs of her pregnancy. If he didn't know any otherwise, he would have no indication of her condition from the photo. Rick studied the picture a bit more, noticing how lovely Lisa really was, with her beautiful expressive green eyes, and milky skin and beautiful smile. The next photo was one of Jack and Lisa facing one another laughingly and the third photo was taken during the dance after a particularly difficult set of turns and Lisa was again clinging to Jack's arms and laughing up at Jack while he smiled down on her. Frustrated Rick threw the tablet onto the couch and debated what to do. Until Minmei was gone, he knew Lisa wouldn't give him the time of day and wondered what Jack was to her. Letting Minmei know that he was headed to base, Rick went to gym to work out his frustrations on the punching bag, others on base seeing him there and watching him working so focused on the punching bag wondered who it was that Rick was using as a mental target on the bag.

* * *

It was a little afternoon when a military jeep pulled up in front on Captain Hayes house and Captain Jack Archer pulled a duffel bag and a suitcase from the back of the jeep. Lisa expecting him, opened the door and welcomed him to her home with a big hug. "I'm so glad that I made the offer to let you stay here Jack, let me show you to your room." Lisa led the way to the extra bedroom/office she had where she had cleared out the area to make additional space for Jack's stuff. The room faced the front of the house, as Lisa preferred the back bedroom that faced the garden. As she gave him the tour of her small place she said, "I hope you don't mind but there is only the one bathroom, but I assure you it's very clean. There are clean towels on the shelves in the bathroom and let me know if you need anything else. I'm going to go finish making lunch, come into the kitchen after you are done settling in."

Jack assured her that everything was great and after dropping his luggage in the spare room and testing out the mattress which was heavenly compared to what he was given on base, Jack passed through the bathroom to wash his hands for lunch and joined Lisa in the kitchen.

"Lisa, really, I can't thank you enough for saving me from those military cots, who the hell was in charge of those?" said Jack as he walked into the kitchen. Lisa just laughed, "I don't know, I'll look at the planning docs and see if I can figure it and I'll let you know. If I have to be honest with you, having you here is good for me. I can tell you I need the distraction. I hope you don't mind me using you like this."

"Naw, don't worry about it Lisa,"smiled Archer. "You know I promised Riber I'd always look out for you, he maybe gone but that promise still holds true and Liz, even without that promise you know I'd still be here for you."

"Thanks Jack,"said Lisa giving the tall Captain a hug. "I can't tell you how much that means to me." Jack just patted her on the back and said, "I'm starving Lisa and whatever you made smells great, can we eat now?"

"Of course, let me just serve it up." Lisa grabbed two plates from her cupboards and placed a large roasted chicken panini sandwich on the plate and added some salad to the plate that she had ready near the stove. She prepped a plate for herself although took only half of the panini and brought both plates to the kitchen table. After lunch Jack cleaned up, saying it was only fair since she had made lunch and said that he would insist on helping out on any chores she needed done. He asked Lisa what she normally did on the weekends and he noticed that Lisa looked a bit sad when he asked. "Well honestly, I worked a lot, I wouldn't go to base though and did what I could using my laptop and tablet and sometimes I would hang out with Claudia and sometimes with Max and Miriya and with Rick. I haven't felt like going out in a while through.. and last night was the first time that I've gone out since New Year's Eve." Jack said that he understood and suggested that they take a walk around the neighborhood so that Lisa could show him where things were during his stay.

The two set out, Lisa wearing a dark brown suede coat with cashmere lining and leather gloves and Jack wearing a dark blue duffel coat with black toggles, they explored the small neighborhood and the different shops that catered to the military personnel that was stationed nearby. They returned home with some snacks and desserts for after dinner and a new action movie that had come out on DVD to watch that night. Jack was surprised when Lisa excused herself when they returned home, citing that she was a bit tired and wanted to rest before dinner. He had never known her to need to take a nap but thought that she might have been tired from the night before and early morning to make the room ready for him. He perused her small bookshelf picking up an action adventure thriller that he was surprised to find on her shelf and sat on the couch reading until Lisa woke. He hadn't mention to her the photo and blurb about them in the paper and decided that he would mention it to her after dinner and get her take on the whole thing.

* * *

Rick spend the whole day on base. After he had left the gym, he had returned to his small office in the hanger to eat the sandwich he had purchased from the vending machine. Rick didn't want to risk going to the mess hall and running into people who may have seen the entertainment news and would ask him questions about it. He ate quickly as the sandwich tasted like sawdust and wondered what he could do to get Minmei out of his house more quickly. Although he hadn't like the way that Kyle had treated Minmei, Kyle had done a good job keeping Minmei employed even when things were tough. The people still needed someone like Minmei to keep their spirits up and give them hope in the world. Rick decided that he couldn't allow Minmei to linger at his place, as he didn't know how long it would take for her to find a new place and he wanted to be able to try and move forward with a clean conscious and get Lisa back. Deciding to take back his life Rick made a phone call to Max and Lena, Minmei's uncle and aunt and had a long conversation with them about Minmei. He felt bad going to them but didn't know what else to do.

Rick got back to the house around 8pm, he had been gone all day, not even returning for dinner. The house was dark and Rick wondered where Minmei was. He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels finally settling on the classic original Star Wars movie that was on. He couldn't really get into the movie and his thoughts would continually drift back to Lisa and how she was doing. Rick was startled when Minmei came back into the house around 11pm. Rick stood up when she came in and said "Hi". Minmei just ignored him and went to the bedroom. He wondered what bee was in her bonnet and knew it wouldn't be long until she told him what was bothering her.. Rick was right. Twenty minutes after she had returned home, changed, and got ready for bed, Minmei came out of the bedroom and stood in front of Rick and the TV. Knowing he wasn't going to get out of this, Minmei looked at him glaringly and said, "I won't be home tomorrow, my aunt and uncle called me today, they want me to come over and have lunch with them and talk. Gee Rick, I wonder what they want to talk about?" With that, Minmei turned on her heels and stomped off to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Rick groaned, he didn't think Uncle Max and Aunt Lena would react so fast to his call and just hoped that Minmei wouldn't stay mad too long.

* * *

Lisa woke up around 6pm and after freshening up went out to the living room where she found Jack sitting on the couch absorbed in the book that he was reading. He looked up from the book he was reading and Lisa just waved him back down and went into the kitchen to prepare something for the two of them to eat. The chicken that she had started roasting when they returned home before her nap was just about ready and Lisa noticed that Jack had added some potatoes to the oven to roast as well. She quickly steamed some vegetables for them and set the dinner table. Jack wandered in a few minutes later and after greeting Lisa, helped her finish preparing dinner. Dinner was quickly eaten as both Jack and Lisa wanted to watch the new action movie that they had picked up and after a quick cleanup of the kitchen, and making a try for the snacks and drinks to enjoy during the movie they settled into the living room to watch the movie. Lisa put the disc into the DVD player when Jack brought up the photo and article. "Hey Lisa, I forgot to ask you, did you see this earlier today?" Jack handed her the tablet and showed her the picture of them and the news blub. Lisa hadn't seen it and had a good laugh with Jack about it, until she flicked the page down and saw that photo of Minmei and Rick together and a surprised, "Oh" came from her mouth. She stared at the photo noticing how lovely Minmei looked and how happy Rick looked in the photo. Jack realizing what Lisa was staring at took the tablet from her hands and said, "Hey, sorry about that, are you ok?"

Lisa just smiled and nodded and said, "Let's watch the movie, shall we?" and went to turn on the player and start the movie. As they settled on the couch, with Jack sitting leaning to once side and Lisa sitting cross legged in the middle of the couch, the two friends quickly became engrossed in the movie on the large screen and sound system that Rick insisted that she buy just for that purpose. The next morning Jack woke up hearing Lisa running to the bathroom. He laughed to himself as Lisa did drink a lot of water last night but became a bit worried when he heard retching sounds coming from the single bathroom shared between the two rooms. Concerned, he got out of bed and pulled on his sweatpants, left the room and and went to knock on the bathroom door. "Lizzie, you okay?" The retching sounds had stopped and Jack could hear the water running and the Lisa came to the door opening it wearing a pair of fleecy pajamas. "Are you okay?" he asked. Lisa looked pale and Jack put his hand on her forehead to see if she had a temperature. Lisa let him, knowing that she didn't have a temperature but not wanting to tell him yet about her news. She knew that Jack would fly off the handle if he knew and decided to wait until he was back in Granite City before letting him know. Lisa mumbled that she was fine and said she was going back to bed for another hour. Jack let her pass and decided he would check on her a bit later to see if she was ok. Jack went to the living room and picked up the book that he had been reading the night before and then went back to his bedroom to read a bit before getting up. After a while Jack went to the bathroom to get ready for the day and realizing that he had forgotten to pack some cotton swabs, he opened the drawers around Lisa's bathroom vanity looking for hers. Not finding any in the drawers , he opened her medicine cabinet and took a quick glance around. A brown prescription bottle captured his attention and wondered what Lisa could be taking and she normally eschewed any types of medication, trusting more homeopathic remedies. Jack worried about Lisa, picked up the bottle and read the label and clinched his hands when he put two and two together.

Lisa yawned and wandered into the kitchen. Good smells were coming from it and Lisa wondered what Jack was cooking. She came in to find a smorgasbord of breakfast foods, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and waffles laid out on the stove and Jack sitting in the chair reading his book and sipping a cup of coffee.

"What is all this Jack? Did you cook everything I had in the refrigerator? There's enough here for a whole squad not just us..."

Jack putting down his book, took a glance at the food and said, "Naw, this wouldn't be enough for a whole squad, they eat a lot more than this. Start eating though, it's going to get cold."

Lisa took a plate and grabbed a waffle and some eggs and she sniffed them a bit before before taking a bite of them. Nodding her head, as the smell agreed with her, she put the plate down on the table and pulled out a cup and made herself a cup of tea. Jack watched her as she added strawberry slices to her waffles and then raised his eyebrows as she added chocolate syrup to her waffle and to her eggs. He watched her as she polished off her waffle and eggs and saw her glance at the stove and the remaining waffles. He said gently to her, "You should have another.. they taste best when they're hot." Lisa glanced again at the waffles and said, "well maybe just a half." As Lisa prepared her second waffle and sipped her tea, Jack picked up something from the table and shook the bottle in the air. As Lisa looked up at the sound and noticed what Jack was holding, he said, "Lizzie, is there something you've neglected to tell me?"

Jack waited for Lisa to say something. Finally she said in a deadpan voice trying to bring some humor to the situation, "Jack, I have something to tell you... I'm pregnant."

"Yeah no shit Lisa, I figured that one out on my own... what I want to know is why you didn't tell me?"

"I don't know Jack, I didn't want you to judge me or lecture me and well I was going to tell you after you went back to Granite City."

"So how far along are you?"

"About two months..."

"Who's the dad?"

Lisa was silent, she didn't want to answer as she knew how Jack would react, "I'd rather not say."

"I don't think you have to, I think I can guess and I think there's more to the story than you told me the other night. So we have time now, why don't you tell me all about it..."

Lisa sighed, she knew she wasn't going to get out of this and settling down, she told Jack the whole story.

* * *

Author's note: Thank you, thank you all for the kind reviews and sorry for the slow down in updates. I'm trying to get a few chapters ahead of posting to make sure there is consistency and that I have a path forward on the plot. Unfortunately my job is keeping me from writing faster than I would like.


	13. Chapter 13

Rick arrived at base early again on Monday morning wanting to get away from Minmei. After she had returned from her Aunt and Uncle's the day before she had yelled at him for interfering in her life and going to her family to get rid of her. She let him know that she was going to be out by the end of the week and that she wasn't going to go back to her relative's house and that she would find her own place. He felt relieved that there was going to be an end to this and knew that his and Minmei's relationship would never recover after this and in a way Rick was glad. Minmei would always be a sore point between him and Lisa and he was ready to break all ties to the past to ensure his future with Lisa.

Rick finished changing into his flight suit when he heard someone come in behind him and turned around and found Jack Archer striding towards him with a fierce look on face. Rick was about to greet him when Jack pulled his right arm back and punched Rick in the face. Rick, not expecting the blow did not have time to get out of the way but turned in time for the punch to hit him in the jaw. Rick stumbled against the lockers as Jack advanced on him. Rick quickly pulled himself up as Jack grabbed him by the collar of his flight suit and hoisted him against the lockers. Rick struggling to be be put down, returned the blows and punched Jack in the face, and shoulders until Jack let him go. "What the hell Archer? What's wrong with you?" Rick yelled. "Don't you dare, Hunter...how could you do that to her?" Rick immediately knew Archer meant. "What the hell is wrong with you Hunter, I thought you were a stand up guy, but you're just an asshole." Jack knowing how much it would hurt Rick, continued, "Roy would have thought so too."

With that last comment, Rick threw himself at Jack and started punching him. Jack being four inches taller than Rick had a bit of advantage and was able to get a couple of extra blows in and pushed Rick up against the wall and forced his arm under Rick's throat. Jack's anger was palpable and Rick could feel that Archer was holding back. Jack leaned in and spoke low and directly into Rick's ear.

"I can kill you y'know, but I know she wouldn't like that, but so help me, I want to hurt you so much right now. I promised Karl that I would watch over her and while I haven't been able to do that the last few years but I want you to know that she's not alone, she's not unprotected and I will do anything for her and her baby."

Rick answered back with a defiant look and said, "I know you don't believe me, but I love her and I'm doing everything I can to make things right."

Jack just looked at Rick and said, "You better..."

"Or what?"

Jack leaned in again and looked Rick in the eye and said, "You and I look a lot alike and we have very similar coloring except for the eyes. DNA tests can be changed and I have the means and resources to do it. I'm hoping that baby inherits Lisa's pretty eyes, it will make it a lot easier to discount you as the father."

Rick already angry, heard those words and a fire lit under him. With a yell, Rick started attacking Jack and this time was able to force Jack back. He continued to fight on until he felt a couple of pairs of arms grabbing him and yelling at him to calm down. A couple of pilots had finally come in the locker room and found Rick and Jack fighting and pulled them apart, they didn't want the MP to get involved and quickly tried to calm the two down. Max finally getting Rick out of the locker room, pushed Rick into his office, slammed the door shut and blocked the door as Rick paced up and down and then tried to get back out the door to go after Archer. "I'm going to kill him." Rick roared

Max held Rick back, he had never seen Rick so worked up and waited for Rick to calm down and tell him what happened. Max had an idea but waited to hear what Rick had to say..."That bastard, I don't know how he can come in here and just interfere..." Rick still pacing the room, slammed his fist against the wall.

Max not knowing what to say waited patiently for Rick to calm down and tell him what happened. Rick finally reaching his breaking point sat on the couch with his head in his hand and said to Max, "You have to swear that you won't say anything Max, I mean it."

"I won't say anything boss, you know that"

"You can't even tell Miriya..."

Max was quiet for a second and nodded his head, "I won't say anything to her, Rick. I swear."

For Rick, he needed someone to unburden himself on knew that Max could be trusted. Rick lowered his head and said something softly. Max not being able to hear him, got lower to be able to hear him, "What Rick? I didn't hear that."

Rick just looked at Max and said, quietly. "Lisa's pregnant, she told me after Khyron's attack, that's why she was in the hospital." Max could see Rick tearing up and clinching his hands, leaving moon shaped fingernail marks in his palm.

Max couldn't speak at first.

Max wanted to ask when and how Lisa got pregnant as he never got the impression that Lisa and Rick were lovers and he couldn't believe that Rick was going to be a dad, " Wow...that's really something...is Lisa doing ok?"

"Yeah, she seems to be fine and so is the baby"

"What about Minmei?"

Rick ran his hands through his unruly hair making it even more messy. "What about her?"

"Well what are you going to do?"

Rick looked at Max in the eye and said, "What I should have done months ago.. I love Lisa, I didn't know why it took me so long to see it, and I don't know if I can get her back. I've already asked Minmei to leave and that hasn't been going too well." Rick explained the agreement he had with Minmei and said that she was going be moving out by the end of the week and continued the story, "and then Archer just comes out and attacks me this morning, hell I didn't know that him and Lisa were that good of friends that she would tell him about us."

"Oh, is that what that was about? I thought that you started the fight with him."

"Now why the hell would I go and do that, I can't stop Lisa from having dinner with a friend especially when I was at the same restaurant with Minmei that night. I may not like it but I don't really have a say..."

Max didn't know if he should tell Rick, but thought that it be better he hear it from him than from someone else.

"That's not why I thought you started the fight Rick."

Rick just looked up at Max again and said, "What are you talking about?"

Max just sighed and pulled out his phone. He launched a browser and opened the latest entertainment news article. "Here, maybe you better read this."

Rick took the phone from Max and read the article he pulled up. It was written in the same style as the news article the other night.

Cozy Weekend for Two

After seeing Captain Lisa Hayes and Captain Jack Archer

captivate us at dinner the other night, we decided to do a

little sleuthing of our own about our illustrious Captain

Hayes. It seems that her and Captain Archer are not just

comrade in arms but these two cuties shared a quiet

weekend together. Archer was seen entering the Captain's

home Saturday afternoon with baggage in hand and the two

were seen at visiting the local shops in the afternoon. One

local shopkeeper noted that the two seemed very comfortable

with one another and were quite playful while shopping.

Another source let it slip that it was nice to see Captain

Hayes out and about as base rumors had previously linked

her to Minmei's own Captain Hunter. Seems there may

be more to this story than we think.. Stay tuned!

Rick finished reading the article and would have thrown the phone if Max hadn't rescued his phone for Rick's hand. Rick went to his desk and grabbed his own phone, found the article and scrolled further down to see two photos. One of Archer, grabbing a duffel bag out of a jeep that was parked in front of Lisa's house and another photo of Lisa and Archer walking through the park, with Archer holding a grocery bag in one hand and Lisa holding a red bag that Rick recognizing as the bag from the video store where he and Lisa used to rent movies from. Rick swore and was about to storm out the door when Max stopped him.

"Whoa, whoa, boss, where do you think you're going?" Max grabbed Rick by the shoulders to hold him back from reaching the door.

"To freakin' punch that guy in the face, he wants Lisa and the baby for himself, and there is no way that is going to happen."

"Why not, it would solve a lot of problems for you."

Rick stopped and looked at Max incredulously, not believing what he heard Max say. "Are you crazy Max, I love Lisa, she's worth fighting for, if you aren't going to support me in this then just get the hell out of here."

Max just clapped Rick on his back and said, "I just wanted to hear it from you boss, I'm on your side and so is Miriya and you're going to need our help if you want to get Lisa back. Running out here and getting into another fight with Archer isn't going to get Lisa back. We're about due to go out on patrol while the other squads are in the simulators, so let's go and do our job and then we can get back here and figure out how to move forward. I think we are going to have to let Miriya in on this Rick, she's still close with Lisa and Miriya would love nothing better to see you and Lisa together. You need allies my friend... not fists" Rick, recognizing the truth in the words of his friend, nodded his head and Rick opened the door to his office to head out on patrol. He noticed that almost everyone watched him come out, wondering if he was about to go on a rampage. Rick noticed Archer leaning against the hanger door just watching Rick and smirking. It took all of Rick's control to not go over there and knock his block off but he knew that wasn't the way to handle this. Max and Miriya came behind Rick and flanked him and others of the Skull came up behind them to show their solidarity to their leader even though no one knew what the hell was going on.

Lisa was sitting in the officer's mess hall sipping a cup of tea when Claudia came and sat across from her with her lunch. She pushed over a chocolate chip cookie to Lisa and said slyly, "Well, well, you and Captain Archer huh? I always thought you two had something there.."

"Oh not you too..I've been getting stares all morning and I caught a couple of sergeants gossiping and giggling in the washroom about the article."

Claudia just laughed, "Well I have to say Archer isn't a bad catch. I know you two have been friends for a long time but maybe you need to rethink that."

Lisa gave Claudia a look, "Claudia, I know you mean well, but you know that Archer and I don't have that type of relationship. Karl was like a brother to him and when I came into the scene, Archer adopted me as part of the family too. He's not interested in me in that way and neither am I. He's always been a bit protective of me, even when Karl was dating me.. I didn't know why at first but Karl told me about what happened to Archer's sister."

Claudia just nodded her head and sipped her coffee, "Roy mentioned to me about what happened to her, I can see why he's feeling extra protective over you now. By the way, did you hear what happened this morning in the hanger?"

"No, I didn't hear anything, I'm still trying to get over the gossip from that stupid article"

"Well, hold onto your hat honey, cuz it's about to get worse."

Lisa look worried, "Why, what happened this morning?"

Claudia leaned in to share what she had learned this morning. "No one really knows who or what started it, but apparently a bunch of pilots came into the locker room this morning to find Rick and Jack really going a it."

"Oh no, are they okay?" asked a worried Lisa.

"Yes, the pilots were able to separate the two and Max was able to drag Rick to his office in the hanger to cool off. They came out about 20 minutes later to start patrol, but Rick and Jack were shooting daggers at one another."

Lisa was afraid to ask, "What are they saying is the reason.."

Claudia just sat back, crossed her arms and smiled, "Well, you of course."

"Oh god Claudia, tell me this isn't happening? I already have enough to think about, I don't need the base to think that I am involved in some love triangle."

Claudia just laughed at her, "The only thing this time is that you are the center of the triangle." Changing the subject, Claudia asked Lisa how she was feeling and when her next appointment was. The two chatted for a few more minutes before they had to return to work. "Oh, before I forget, Admiral Gloval wants you to be one of the air controllers for the training exercise tomorrow, can you do it?"

Lisa checked her schedule based on the timing that Claudia gave her and rearranged a few meetings to block off her afternoon for the training. "Okay all set, I'll be there."


	14. Chapter 14

The next day the training exercises were scheduled about 50 miles away from the base in a deserted area away from New Macross. Lisa and her team were driven in by jeep about an hour before the exercise to setup the control tower. They weren't going to know which squad they would be supporting until the event started. They crew chatted excitedly as they checked the equipment, communications, radars and ensured that all was in proper working condition. Many of the crew in the control tower had limited battle experience or were newly trained and for them getting a chance to work besides Lisa was a great opportunity. She was quite admired for her tactical air operations experience and was a model for many of the young women joining the military. They stole glances at her as they worked, admiring the way she easily took control and gave direction, helping out those who needed it without making them feel incompetent. Lisa would have been chagrined to know some of the admiring looks they gave her came partially from the rumors and news articles about her the last couple of days.

They had just finished calling off the last round of statuses when Lisa nodded her head and congratulated the team on the excellent job with the setup. The four squads had been coming in and Lisa had monitored the controller that was bring them in the different runways. Once the final fighter had landed, Lisa had congratulated the Lieutenant on a job well done and the team headed down to meet the team that they would be supporting that day in the mock battle.

As they stood in front of the tower and waited for the pilots approach to hear the game plan for today, Rick saw Lisa and his heart gave a little skip, until he saw her give a wide smile and wave to Archer who greeted the control crew. Colonel Maistroff came out and gave a quick speech about the purpose of the training and wished the Squadron pilots the best of luck and called out the Squad and Controller Assignments. Rick was thrilled when Lisa and her team were called out as the tower control crew for the Skull and knew he had an excellent chance of winning with Lisa on the other side of the TacNet. He smiled at her and although he received a glare from her, he knew that her professionalism would take over once the battle began. When Maistroff announced that the other team would be Captain Archer's Wolf Squadron, Rick grinned. He knew he could out fly Archer and looked forward to beating him in the air.

After returning to base after patrol the day before, the squad had to go through medical examinations to clear them for today's exercise and afterward, Rick, Max and Miriya met in Rick's small office to discuss the situation between him and Lisa. Even though Max knew about Lisa's pregnancy, they decided to keep the information from Miriya as they didn't want her running off to Lisa just yet, but Rick did share the fact that they had spent the night together. Miriya had pushed for details, but Rick wasn't willing to divulge anything other than the bare minimum of details. Rick had to assure Miriya that Minmei was on her way out and that he really cared about Lisa before she would agree to help him. Miriya had been quiet through Rick's explanation and when he finished, Miriya looked at him and just shook her head. "How is a pilot as good as you, so stupid Rick. Lisa may not forgive you and with Captain Archer in the picture, it's going to be harder to get her back. You do know he's staying at her place don't you?"

It had taken both Max and Miriya quite a lot to calm Rick down and not have him go after Jack again after Miriya's statement. Miriya had promised Rick to get more details about the situation and report on it as soon as possible. Although Rick had not told Miriya about Lisa's pregnancy, the timing plus her observations of Lisa, confirmed Miriya's suspicions about Lisa's pregnancy and vowed to do whatever she could to get the two Captain's together.

As for the rumors about the fight between Rick and Jack, Lisa had confronted Jack about the morning fight in the locker room that night at dinner and Jack squarely placed the blame on Rick, telling Lisa that Rick had attacked Jack for the photos and article in the gossip page about their weekend together but assured Lisa that, "he's been set straight on the situation and he knows that I am just looking out for you and that I just have your best interests at heart." Jack omitted the part where he threatened Rick's paternity deciding that bit would best be kept to himself.

On the airfield, the squads shook hands before taking their places and everyone watched as the two Captains squared up against each other. Jack just grinned at Rick, stuck out his hand and said "Good Luck, Captain." Rick just smiled back and gripped Jack's hand hard and said, "You too, Archer." and the teams took to the sky. There were 5 flags that each team had to capture and a flags' beacon wasn't activated until the previous flag had been captured. The flags were scattered over a 300 mile radius and the teams took off under the direction of the controllers for each team. The Veritech's were equipped with training ammunition and coated with film that would register a hit from the training ammunition and the control tower was to monitor the hits and call out those fighters that were down. The squads were evenly matched and there were few hits on each side as the teams worked to either defend and protect their flags or mount an offensive attack. They had already been at it for an a little over two hours and the Skull was reduced to Rick and Miriya with Max getting knocked out when he was double teamed by two of Jack's Wolf Squadron pilots. Max on his way out, had also taken his attackers down and had left Archer only with his wingman. Skull had just captured the 4th flag from when the final beacon went off and and Lisa seeing the opportunity for a win called in the attack, "Skull Leader, proceed to sector 8-0-0-9 final target in site. Proceed with caution, enemy has two remaining fighters out there. Recommended flight formation Shadow 1."

Captain Hunter responded via the TacNet, "Acknowledged, target on radar, proceeding to 8-0-0-9."

Captain Hayes watched as Miriya flew right under Rick's fighter, matching his pace and speed. It made it look like there was only one fighter left on the radar.

Archer and his wingman, were forced to defend their flag as this was their final flag and quickly flew to intercept the fighter coming in. "I thought that there were two of them,"said his wingman, Lt. Johnson. "Yeah I thought so too, proceed with caution, it may be a trap." replied Archer. "One more thing, if it's Hunter, leave him to me, okay."

"Ok boss, he's all yours" said Johnson.

As the fighters approached one another the sensors picked up only one fighter and Johnson called out, "I got visual of Skull One coming in hard and fast"

Archer responded, "Break off and protect the final beacon, in case there's another fighter hiding in the clouds, I'll take Hunter."

"Acknowledged," replied Johnson as he broke off and headed back toward the beacon. Miriya in the meantime had been flying under Rick and was hidden from visual by cloud cover and using the cloud cover quickly accelerated to go after the final flag. Johnson's radar started to go off and yelled through the comm system to Archer, "You're right boss, there's another one hiding...in pursuit." As Johnson took off after Miriya, Archer flew towards the Skull One and decided to have a bit of fun with Rick. Rick, who wanted to get Archer back for his comments the other day, focused on the Wolf Squadron leader and the two started a vigorous dogfight. Captain Hayes, monitoring the situation from the control tower, contacted Rick via the TacNet. "Captain Hunter, please disengage from the enemy and assist in capture of the final flag, please acknowledge."

Rick, too intent on beating Archer, ignored the order and continued to keep Archer engaged in the fight and informed the tower, that he would break off once the enemy was taken care of. In the meantime, Miriya had moved forward to capture the final beacon and using the natural terrain was able to avoid Johnson who was in pursuit of her. They weaved in and out of the canyon caused by Dolza's destruction and as Johnson accelerated to catch up to Miriya, Miriya quickly decelerated, dropped under the fighter and as it flew by, Miriya quickly came up and behind him to take him out. Miriya had a clear path to the flag and quickly captured it. Miriya contacted Rick to inform him of her capture and let him know of her success. Rick focused on going after Archer, told her without really understanding what she told him said, "Great job Miriya, proceed back to base, I'll follow in a few.."

Lisa, at that time, contacted Rick again on the TacNet, "Captain Hunter, objective has been achieved, please return back to base." Rick finally hearing what Lisa said came out of his trance and looked at Lisa on the screen and acknowledged her order. Lisa sighed and was glad this was only a training exercise and that Rick and Archer didn't really have live ammunition. As Rick was about to about to turn and head back to base, Archer contacted him on a private channel and said, "Good play Hunter... congratulations on the win." Rick nodded his thanks and was about to close communications with Archer, when Archer said, "Lisa Archer, sounds pretty good huh, if it's a boy, we will name him after Roy." With that last comment, Rick screamed in anger and rage and took off after Archer. Jack just laughed and continued to fly away and evade Rick. Lisa, wondering why Rick was still attacking Jack, contacted him via the TacNet and yelled at him, "Hunter what the hell are you doing, disengage now and return to base, Skull won. Return to base." Rick just gritted his teeth, he hated Archer that minute so much and just wanted to destroy him. Rick charged Archer in the fighter and changed to Battloid Mode at the last minute slamming into Jack's fighter. Jack not prepared for Rick's attack, quickly stabilized his fighter and changed into Battloid mode in order to defend himself. In Battloid mode Jack blocked and parried Rick's blows but didn't strike back. In the Skull One, Rick continued to rage and Lisa continually tried to get through to him to stop and disengage. It was Miriya and Max who quickly realized that things were getting out of control, transformed their fighters into Battloids and went to refrain their Captain. Once Max and Miriya were able to hold Rick back, Archer transformed to Guardian mode and flew back to the control tower. Max contacted Rick via the TacNet, "Rick you gotta hold it together, that just looked really bad and you can be sure there are going to be consequences of your actions." Breathing heavy, Rick swore under his breath. He couldn't believe how fast he let Jack get back to him and radioed back to the control tower to let them know that the squad was returning and asked for landing instructions. Rick was so caught up in his own mistake he didn't even realize that Lisa wasn't the one giving him return and landing instructions and that it was another controller who provided final instructions to the Skull Squadron.

As Skull One landed and Rick exited his plane, he noticed quite a crowd around the control tower and saw that the medical team supporting the trainings in case of emergency was pulling out a gurney. Rick stopped one of the flight deck crew and asked, "What's going on over there?" The crewman glanced over at him and knowing the base rumors and what Rick had just done to Archer was reluctant to tell him, but said, "Uh, I think I heard that Captain Hayes fainted." The words were barely out of the crewman's mouth when Rick starting running over. It was about a mile to the control tower and as Rick got closer to the control tower, he could see Lisa sitting on a bench outside the control tower with Archer kneeling in front of her and her arms around Archer's neck. Rick's heart stopped when he saw Lisa holding onto Jack and Rick hurried forward to see what had happened to Lisa. As he approached, he saw Archer stand up and pick Lisa up, cradling her in his arms. Archer walked over to the gurney and placed her on it. The medical crew quickly swarmed her and loaded her onto the ambulance. Archer jumped in before the doors closed and with sirens blaring, the ambulance took off. Max and Miriya caught up to Rick and asked what happened. Rick just stunned, said slowly, "I'm not sure..." As they stood their watching the ambulance drive away, the crowd dispersed and the personnel started to return to the duties.

"Wasn't that romantic?" gushed a passing lieutenant to her friends. Rick recognized her as one of the staff of the control tower and stopped her and asked her what happened.

When she realized that it was Captain Hunter asking, the lieutenant flashed her eyes in anger at him and answered him in an almost insolent tone. "Well sir, if you must know, after your attack on Captain Archer, Captain Hayes was quite upset and was visibly shaking. After you disengaged and both you and Archer were returning back to base, Captain Hayes fainted. We were able to bring her to and she said she was fine but Captain Archer insisted that she get checked. She's really lucky to have someone looking out for her like that and you can tell how much he cares about her. If that is all sir, I'd like to be excused as I need to return to my post." Rick dismissed her and with a swish of her hair the lieutenant gave Hunter one last disapproving look and left with her friends.

In the ambulance, Jack was worried. He felt bad that Lisa fainted, knowing that he caused it by provoking Hunter into fighting with him. When he had reached the control tower, Lisa had recovered from her faint and Lisa had been crying over Rick and wondering what the hell had gotten into him and questioning why he attacked Jack when his team had already won. Jack using the situation to his advantage, responded to her queries that he didn't know why Rick had attacked him and didn't mention his little barb to Hunter and tried to comfort her as best he could. He had insisted that she get checked over by Dr. Wu and carried her to the gurney, going with her to ensure that everything was alright and to make sure she got home safely that night. The paramedics after checking Lisa over gave her a clean bill of health but they also thought it wise that Lisa get checked by Dr. Wu as well and radioed in the request to the hospital as soon as they were underway. Dr. Wu met Lisa in the emergency room and quickly had her moved to a private examination room. After hearing what happened and checking Lisa over, she agreed that Lisa was fine and that the faint was mostly caused by over excitement and anxiety and reminded Lisa to take it easy and not to get upset. Dr. Wu gave instructions to Archer on what to watch for tonight in case there was a relapse and Lisa fainted again or if anything else happened. He assured her that he would watch out for her and took Lisa home and settled her on the couch for the rest of the afternoon and until he could have dinner made. She thanked him and after a while fell asleep on the couch.

As for Rick, he was reprimanded by Maistroff on his return to Macross Base. The colonel had asked Rick for an explanation and was perplexed when Rick could give no answer for his unprovoked attack on Archer. Rick was punished for his unsportsmanlike conduct and the colonel had no choice but to revoke the Skull Squadron win and give the win to the Wolf Squadron. In addition, Rick was relegated to his desk for the remaining of the week and was docked two week's pay for his actions. Rick took his punishment stoically and left Maistroff's office and returned to the hanger where Max and Miriya were waiting for him. Rick felt terrible that his actions resulted in a loss for the Skull Squadron and quickly called his squad together and to give them the news. There were grumblings from the squad, especially since Rick gave no real indication of what caused his attack on Archer, although he apologized for letting a personal issue cloud his judgment. Most of the squad knowing about the fight that Rick had the other day with Archer and the news article concerning Captain Hayes and Captain Archer, assumed that it had to do with Captain Hayes. The squad knowing their Captain's history with the pretty Captain, decided to forgive Rick, as it seemed that he was quite affected by the news that Lisa and Jack were together. Many of them had thought that Lisa was a much better choice for their Captain than Minmei, seeing what Minmei had put Rick through the last two years before finally becoming his girlfriend. The squad decided to forgive Rick for his lapse in judgment during the fight today and as they exited the hangar wondered if Rick had finally come to the realization that Minmei was not the one for him and that he was really in love with Captain Hayes. After the rest of the pilots left, Rick hurried to shower and change and went to his office to call and check in on Lisa.

Rick dialed her house number first hoping that Lisa had been discharged from the hospital, on the second ring a voice answered but not the voice he was expecting, "Captain Hayes's, residence." Rick gritted his teeth and asked "Is Lisa there?" Jack recognizing Rick's voice on the line said in a cool voice, "Oh hello Rick, what can I do for you?" Rick starting to swear but stopped and decided to respond back in a similar tone, "Hello Jack, I was calling to speak to Lisa."

"Rick, I hate to tell you this, but she's in bed resting right now, I will let her know that you called though. Goodbye" Archer was about to hang up on Rick when he heard Rick yell on the other line, "Wait!"

"What is it Hunter?"

"I just wanted to check, is Lisa ok? I heard about her fainting today and I just wanted to make sure she was ok."

Archer paused before answering, he wanted to protect Lisa but could tell that Rick's concern was genuine. "She's fine Hunter, just a little overwhelmed by the excitement from today. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."

Rick, not liking that answer, became angry and said, "Listen Archer, I don't know what you are playing at but I don't think it's funny."

"I don't think this is funny either, Hunter and if I have given you the impression that I think it's funny, then I apologize."

"Cut the bullcrap Archer... I told you I'm going to make things right with her."

"Whatever Hunter, good way of showing it today, Lisa was pretty upset today."

"Well you shouldn't have provoked me!"

"Always looking for excuses huh Hunter? You may have said that you were going to make things right with her, but I never said I had to make it easy. Lisa trusts me Rick, I've known her a long time and we've been through a lot together. I don't care about what you want right now Rick, I'm here for Lisa and will do whatever it takes to make sure she's happy, Understand?"

Rick was quiet and Archer wasn't sure if the line was disconnected or not, he was about to hang up when Rick finally said, "Yeah, I got it." and then hung up the phone. Rick left his office to find Max and Miriya still outside about to leave. "Miriya," Rick called out.. Miriya saluted him, "Yes Captain."

Rick returned her salute and said in a rush, "I need you to find as much info as you can on Archer, can you do that?"

Miriya look offended that Rick would even ask that, "Of course, not only am I am excellent pilot but most capable in gathering intelligence as well, I will find you the information you are looking for."

Rick just grinned at her, "Thanks Miriya, Max. Can we meet tomorrow afternoon and go over what you've found out?" Max and Miriya agreed and left Rick for the night to go pick up Dana from the base daycare and Rick returned home, hoping that Minmei was out for the night.

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Author's note: Thank you all for continuing to read this story and a special thank you for those who have left reviews. I'm glad to see that there are strong feelings about the plotline and I hope that I can continue to meet your high expectations. I know that a character's behavior or a character's decision may not be to everyone's satisfaction but it's where the characters are taking me right now and I hope that you find it interesting enough to read on. There seems to be a strong lead for Team Archer and I hope in future chapters Rick finds a way to redeem himself.

Please continue to provide me your thoughts on this story but I kindly ask that you keep your reviews clean.


	15. Chapter 15

Unfortunately for Rick, Minmei was home when he returned. Minmei had heard about the training exercise incident from one of the sergeants she befriended on her daily walks around base housing. Sergeant Parker had a huge crush on the singing star and took every opportunity he could to speak to her and knowing of her relationship with the Captain Hunter thought that this news was something that would interest Minmei. Minmei was very curious about the incident and asked a lot of questions about what happened and wondered what could cause Rick to go off on someone like that, as Rick was usually an even tempered guy. Sergeant Parker hadn't wanted to hurt Minmei with the speculation that Captain Hayes had something to do with Captain Hunter's behavior and just told Minmei that he would tell her whatever else he could find out about the incident but that Rick would probably tell her himself.

Minmei didn't bring up the incident when Rick walked in that night, she could tell that he had a lot on his mind from the look on his face and even though she was still mad at him, he was giving her shelter until she could find a place of her own. Her hunt for a new apartment hadn't gone so well as the places where she wanted to live were out of her price range and knew that she would have better luck if she went to visit the places herself to try and negotiate a better rate than to inquire about the places over the phone as she had been doing. She hadn't identified herself to the property managers when she made her calls as she didn't want them them to contact the news outlets that Minmei was looking for a new place. After a brief conversation with Rick about his day, Minmei retired to the bedroom to plan her strategy on finding a new place to live. She had already contacted her old manager, Vincent if he would take her back as her a client and she was planning to meet with him the next day. Minmei had never really thanked Vincent for all he had done for her on the SDF-1 and launching her career and didn't defend him when Kyle broke her contract with him. Kyle had accused Vincent of taking advantage of Minmei even though Uncle Max and Aunt Lena had read over the contract quite carefully before allowing her to sign with him. She knew she was going to have to do some grovelling but hoped that Vincent would forgive her especially with Kyle being gone and take her back. Minmei sighed, trying to make a comeback was difficult and she wasn't looking forward to the road ahead.

Rick was also contemplating his next steps on how he was going to get Lisa back and having Archer as an obstacle to get over was going to be difficult. He had to find out more about Lisa and Archer's relationship and their shared history and hoped that Miriya had something to share with him tomorrow.

* * *

Lisa awoke from her nap feeling much better and found that Archer had prepared a light meal for her. After eating and chatting with Jack, she decided to retire for the night. She wondered what caused Rick to go after Archer earlier and suspected that Jack may have left something out about the incident. She wanted to call Rick and see what happened but didn't trust herself if she called him. She knew she had to be strong and accept that the role of friend and support for the pilot was no longer hers. Lisa decided that she would check with Miriya the next day and see if she had any more information.

Miriya walked into the hangar the next afternoon and into Rick's office. Rick and Max were waiting for her in Rick's office and sat down on the small couch and looked at the two of them with a grin on her face. "The amount of trivial information that your species is able to gather and disseminate, is quite fascinating and amazing, this gossip that so easily captures one's attention."

Rick impatient for the info on Archer just gave Miriya a look at that she was familiar with. Clearing her throat Miriya stood up and with legs apart, began her recitation, "Captain Jack Archer, 31 years old and entered the military academy at 16 years of age. Made an orphan from the Unification Wars, when his parents were killed leaving him with sole custody of his then 13 year old sister. She remained with family friends while he was at the Academy. Apparently the Archer family was quite wealthy and have retained much of their wealth even though the circumstances on Earth has changed. At the academy, Archer's best friend was Karl Riber, who was a technologist and pacifist. Riber hid his pacifist tendencies in order to continue to work with the new technology that was found on the SDF-1 when it first landed. He shared his thoughts on war and the military only to his closest friends. Archer is considered to be an excellent pilot, even flying with Commander Fokker for a while. Archer apparently petitioned to be assigned to the SDF-1 but was denied as they had quite a number of good pilots were already assigned and didn't want to leave other military carriers without the appropriate leadership. Archer was able to survive Dolza's attack as the carrier that he was on was located in a remote part of the ocean and they sustained little damage. He was reassigned to Granite City after the carrier returned to a safe port. As for Archer himself, he is considered quite a catch. I am not quite sure what this means but many of the women who provided me background information on Archer find him to be quite good looking and from all accounts an overall good man. There is much speculation about his relationship with Captain Hayes, but I overheard one of the officers who seems to have been in the service for a while state that while Archer was Riber's best friend and supported their relationship there is question whether Archer was secretly in love with her himself and just been biding his time and waiting for the Captain to be over Riber before making his own moves on her."

"I knew it! I knew he just wanted her for himself." Rick said angrily.

"Well, apparently he is quite a catch," said Miriya dryly, "She couldn't do much better than him, wealth, good looks and he seems to adore her."

"Who's side are you on anyway?" Rick said glaring at Miriya.

Max came to stand by his wife in her support, "Hey, don't yell at her, she did what you asked of her and she got a lot of good information. The question is what are you going to do with it."

Miriya spoke up again. "Captain, no disrespect to you, but what do you have to offer Captain Hayes that could make her choose you over him. On top of that you still have Minmei living in your home. Hell, at this moment I would choose him over you."

Rick sat down in his chair disappointed in what he had heard. He knew Miriya was right that he didn't have the same advantages to offer to Lisa but he did have one thing that would keep him bound to Lisa forever whether Archer liked it or not. Rick was a bit worried whether Archer's threats about being able to change the DNA results had any merit. Even though it maybe something Archer would do, Rick couldn't believe that Lisa would support a lie like that. Rick didn't want to take any chances though and knew he had to do whatever he could from Archer worming his way into Lisa's heart.

Thinking over the information that Miriya had brought him, Rick sat down at his desk to wallow in his misery as Max and Miriya excused themselves and went home to pick up little Dana. It didn't sound like there was anything in Archer's past that could be used against him and Rick knew he had to move fast if he wanted any chance of getting Lisa to talk to him.

The rest of the week was slow for Rick as he was confined to his desk for the remainder of the week. He still didn't know what do about Lisa and Jack and was also getting worried because Minmei didn't seem like she was moving out anytime soon. He had asked her about an update on her situation and got an impatient, "I'm working on it Rick, it's not that easy to find the right place." He hoped it would be soon because Rick wanted to put his life back together.

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Author's note: I know this chapter is short and will try to post another chapter soon. Once again, thank you all for the great reviews, comments and opinions about Rick and Jack, please keep them coming.


	16. Chapter 16

The final week of the training was much more relaxed as they squads finished up odds and ends. Each of the visiting squads spend time with Captain Hayes and a team of tacticians to go over and review new procedures and new routines based on their home location to try and improve coverage and monitoring for their sectors. The squads also spent time with Dr. Lang's team to make minor adjustments to their individual Veritech's based on the pilot and the machine to improve accuracy with the new equipment and software. All in all it was a very successful training and they looked forward to being able to implement these types of changes across all the other remaining squads. Sammie and the girls had convinced Admiral Gloval to allow them to arrange a dinner dance on the last night of the training and Gloval feeling that there was a need to have a bit of a celebration after all they have been through, agreed to their request. It was just a coincidence that the day of the dance was just before Valentine's Day and the bridge Trio hoped that that there planning would result in Valentine's dates for them.

Rick frustrated that Minmei hadn't found a place yet convinced her early in the week that she needed to go out and visit the apartments that she was hoping to move to, but regretted it when mid week an article in entertainment section of the news came out with another blurb about her and Rick.

Moving on Up?

Minmei was spotted this week in the tony north side of Macross looking at some of the nicer luxury apartments. The two bedroom apartments are quite expensive for one on a military salary and so the question is being asked, "Is Captain Hunter thinking about leaving the RDF for greener pastures?" There are reports that quite a number of private companies would love to make an offer to this hero to join them and allow him and Minmei to live a more comfortable life. When asked about the changes, Minmei responded, "We're just looking at options right now, nothing's been settled yet."

Rick livid when he read the report, slammed open the bedroom door to Minmei's room startling her awake. "Minmei, I can't believe you would do that to me," shouted Rick.

"What is it Rick, why are you so mad, what did I do?" said Minmei opening her eyes and looking at him in confusion.

"This is what I am talking about" as he tossed his tablet to her, "Look at the news today, why did you imply that I was thinking about leaving the military. I told you already that wasn't something I was willing to do. Why couldn't you just tell them the truth Minmei?

Minmei burst into tears at that point. "You don't know how hard it's been Rick, I've been trying to find a place but all the good places are out of my price range and I can't move anywhere else or it would look bad. Vincent isn't willing to take me back yet and he wants to hear some new material from me before he's willing to do entertain the notion, so I'm sorry if I screwed up your precious life Rick, you don't have to be so mean." With that Minmei flung the covers back over her head and cried under the covers. Rick unable to talk or deal with her, rushed through his morning routine and left the house in a huff.

By mid morning the whole base had heard about Rick's eminent retirement from the military. There was a lot of speculation as to what would have caused it, if last week's incident with Archer had been a catalyst, which company he was going to go to and more importantly when he was going to leave. The only times people stopped talking about it was when Captain Hayes was near by. They still weren't sure what was going on, especially after her fainting spell last week, but they noted that Captain Hayes looked a little thinner than usual and that she didn't seem to have the energy that she used to have. With some concern, those around her chose not to bring it up.

Rick tried to talk to his squad this morning and let them know that he did not have any plans for leaving the military and that Minmei was looking for a place closer to the city to restart her career. Most of the pilots believed that it wouldn't be long before Minmei convinced Rick to follow her and they wondered if they were wrong in forgiving him the last week. At this point they didn't know what to think and so when asked about the speculation if Rick was planning to leave or not by their friends on base, they would just shrug and say, "I'm not sure, I dunno." Archer didn't help by telling anyone who would listen to him how, "he didn't think it would be long before Rick made the change" and "what a great opportunity it would be for Rick and Minmei."

It was Claudia, who quietly informed Lisa about the news article and upon hearing it, Lisa felt her heart hurt a little bit. After their last argument where she kicked him out and now this news, Lisa felt the distance growing between them and felt helpless to do anything about it. Rick didn't even try and contact her since the incident last week and while she wasn't expecting any grand gesture of undying love for her, she did think he would have at least checked on her in some fashion. Lisa realized that she still had some hope of Rick coming back to her, but the latest news just made that hope more and more of a dream.

Admiral Gloval, worried about Lisa, decided to give her some news that he had been holding back, originally planning to wait until next week to inform her of some professional changes in her life, called her into his office.

"Captain Hayes, reporting sir," said Lisa as she saluted the Admiral.

"Please Lisa sit down," said Gloval motioning to a seat in front of his desk. "There is something that I want to talk to you about."

Lisa flushed red, "if this is about my personal life, I can assure you that it's not affecting my work at all sir,"

"No, no Lisa, that's not what I wanted to talk you about. Your professionalism has never come into question, even with all that has been happening lately. Please be assured both I and the UEG council have the utmost respect for you and the work that you do."

"Thank you sir, I apologize for jumping to conclusions." replied Lisa. "What is it that I can do for you today?"

Gloval cleared his throat, "Captain Hayes, it is my pleasure to inform you that the UEG and the RDF have reviewed your records and have unanimously recommended you for a promotion to Major effective immediately." Gloval pushed across the desk a letter to Lisa with the UEG seal on it that Lisa took and and with shaky hands opened the letter and quickly read the promotion decree. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her and was surprised by the promotion. "Admiral, thank you, this is so unexpected."

Admiral Gloval, "I assume this means that you are accepting the promotion Captain Hayes? It will mean a change to the duties you are currently handling but we have a special project we'd like you to handle."

Lisa stood and saluted Admiral Gloval, "Sir, I officially accept the promotion and will continue to withhold and stand by the duties entrusted to me by the RDF and the UEG. " Admiral Gloval stood and saluted her back, "Major Hayes, congratulations on your promotion. If it's alright with you, we will announce you promotion at the dinner on Friday, unless you prefer a separate ceremony."

"No no, a small announcement at the dinner will be fine, I'd like it not to be made a big deal of."

Gloval smiled as he knew how much Lisa did not like being the center of attention. "Please sit, let me tell you about your new assignment. As you know, the destruction of the SDF-2 was a huge blow to us and I wanted to let you know that before it's untimely destruction, I was fully planning to give you full command of the SDF-2 and the mission to search for the home of the Robotech Masters."

Lisa gasped, there had been rumors to that fact but nothing was officially said and having Gloval confirm the plans made Lisa feel proud that her accomplishments were well accounted for to be given command of her own ship.

Gloval continued, "As you know since the SDF-2 is no longer space worthy and is now indeed a pile of junk, we had to quickly come up with new plan. The destruction of the SDF-2 also showed us how short sighted we were in thinking that we could win against the masters with limited strength. The UEG and the RDF have determined that we need to ensure the survival of humanity and in order to to do that we need to expand our horizons and go beyond our planet and find other plants where we can survive."

"Do you mean a colonization mission then, Admiral?" asked Lisa.

"Yes, that is exactly what we mean and the UEG and myself feel that there is no one better than you to lead that mission. Your experience on the SDF-1 during the war in space, your tactical experience and the work you did to help rebuild Macross city on the SDF-1 makes you more than qualified to tackle this assignment. It will take us a while to rebuild a ship but with the help of the Zentraedi and the new Robotech factory satellite we think that we can build a colonization ship within 3-4 years and be ready to leave in five years"

Lisa was speechless, she couldn't believe the honor and faith that the UEG and the RDF were giving her by assigning this project to her. She was a bit worried though about how the changes she was experiencing in her personal life would affect this assignment. "Sir, I am a bit concerned that the UEG and the RDF will change their mind about giving me the assignment once they find out about my pregnancy."

Admiral Gloval shook his head, "I know it's not something you wanted, but they are already privy to those changes. I had to submit you latest medical review for the promotion and we discussed it at council. Even then you will have a full staff to help you with the duties. You are not to do this alone, you understand?" Lisa nodded her head and Gloval continued, "in fact your pregnancy seemed to work in your favor as this is a colonization mission and if you and your child are committed to going, it may make it easier for others to sign up for the mission especially for some of the citizens of earth and although it's in the preliminary stages, the UEG and RDF are seriously considering the creation of a spacial branch of the military and eventually they will need someone to lead this branch."

Major Hayes and Admiral Gloval talked for much of the remainder of the afternoon about the colonization mission. She was excited to have a new project to work on and this was a project that Lisa firmly believed in. Seeing the number of ships that Dolza's army had made her believe that hunting for the Robotech Masters would have been a suicide mission, but a colonization mission would give humans a chance to survive should there be another attack against Earth.

Lisa left Admiral Gloval's office with a spring in her step. Not only did she receive a promotion and a plum assignment, but she realized that she wouldn't have to deal with seeing Rick and Minmei together forever, just for five more years. She worried a bit if Rick would make it an issue if she wanted to take her child on the mission, but hoped that by then him and Minmei would have their own life and family and would leave the child to her. She knew it was selfish, but felt that maybe the more distance she gave Rick, that he would be less likely to fight her on the issue. Well, she thought, there is no use worrying about this right now and continued to her office to review the files that Gloval had sent her and to start selecting the staff to help her manage the project.

Lisa worked until Jack stopped by to pick her up, he had been coming by everyday to walk home with her and Sammie, Kim and Vanessa all thought it was quite romantic. They were quite charmed by Captain Archer and glad that Lisa had found someone better than Rick Hunter. The trio had tried asking Lisa if there was anything more than the friendship that Lisa claimed with Jack, but she insistently told them that there was nothing between the two of them.

* * *

Author's note: I just want to thank the reviewers for leaving such amazing comments on this story. I'm going to try and address some of the reviews without giving away the ending, but I truly appreciate the quality of the feedback and comments that have been made.

Lady-Cin - Great observations and comments. I admit I love Rick and Lisa too, they are truly one of my favorite couples of all time and sometimes it's hard to read stories where they don't end up together or Rick makes the terrible mistake of ending up with Minmay. I do remember reading your story Rick & Lisa: The Saga and can't wait for an update. I also think Jack is a great character and a good man, he truly deserves a good woman. Maybe Lisa?

Opus Games - Whoo hoo, go Team Archer. Jack is a god! I wish he was real. Seriously, thanks for the reviews. I hope that I can do him justice for you.

Komilla F. Jenus - i agree with zomaga. I don't necessarily see Jack as being a villain in this piece. He's more Lisa's friend than Rick's and that reflects in his actions. I hope you keep reading though and see how it all plays out. I'm anxiously waiting to find that out myself.

Fernando - so happy to see you have so much passion for this story and will try and update as often as I can. As for Minmei, I think she's going to try and stick around as long as she can unless Rick can man up and get her out

IdiAmeanDada - good advice for Rick, I'll try and pass it along to him.

Mclaughlin - You and IdiAmeanDada need to take Rick out for a drink. It's obvious he needs some guidance. He's young though and while that doesn't necessarily excuse him from being an a$$, we have to make some allowances for him. As for the love triangle, it will not be the focus of the story and hopefully these two lovebirds will get back on the right track sooner than later.

Adena McGee - So excited to see your story updates as well and thank you for taking the time to read and comment on mine. I think one of the reasons I started writing here was because there wasn't enough new material.

janditapreciosa - Thank you for reading all my stories. It's wonderful knowing that you are enjoying them.

AHRG - Thank you to you as well for continuing to read my chapters. I have followed many of your pieces and hope that you get a chance to update them soon.

Drew Michaels - Always a big thank you for your support and feedback and help with the story writing process.

I know I wasn't able to thank everyone and there are other reviewers that I would like to respond to, but due to time constraints had to refrain. I am going to try and not respond to the reviews, unless I can't help myself (like tonight) and try and focus on finishing up this story. Please know that I do read them all and enjoy all of them immensely.


	17. Chapter 17

Jack and Lisa, walked home slowly, stopping by the market to pick up some fresh vegetables and fruits. During the walk home Jack let it slip that it seemed the Skull Squadron was a bit worried about when Rick was going to resign, trying to gauge Lisa's reaction, but all he received was a , "hmm, they will be ok, Max could take over very easily as squad leader." Jack wondered if this meant that Lisa was getting over Rick and hoped that was the case. Jack also asked Lisa if he could escort her to the dinner dance on Friday as it was hard to pick a date for the event as there were so many woman throwing themselves at him and he didn't want to disappoint any of them given that he was leaving on Sunday and that it would be best if he showed up with a date. Lisa laughingly agreed to his request, thinking that it would be good not to show up alone as well and that at least she would have someone besides Claudia to talk to. Lisa told Jack about the news of her promotion as well and her new assignment asking him to keep it quiet until the next day when it was announced at dinner. Jack was excited for her and gave her a big hug and swung her around right in front of her house as Max and Miriya were driving by.

Friday afternoon at the base was fairly empty. Most of the staff had left to get ready for the dinner dance that night and a lone figure was sitting at on the tables watching the sun start to set. Jack approached the table and said, "May I join you?"

Claudia looked up to see Jack Archer standing in front of her with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. She nodded to the empty seat in front of her as Jack sat down. They sat for a few minutes in silence, watching the setting sun, as it's brilliant orange, pink, and yellow rays filled the room with the last rays of the day. "I never got to tell you how sorry I was to hear about Roy, Claudia. I'm sorry for your loss." Jack said quietly reaching out for Claudia's hand and covering them with his own larger hand for a few moments, conveying his heartfelt sympathy to her before pulling his hands back.

Claudia sighed, "Thank you Jack, I appreciate it, I miss him too and sometimes I wonder how I am going to get through without him. It's getting easier though, but I guess now I understand why Lisa held on so long to Riber. Enough about me though, how are things coming along with our little friend?"

"Well for one thing, I'm glad that you didn't really tell me what was going on when we talked a few weeks ago or else I really would have lost it. She's tough though Claudia, you know that, and with you and me by her side, we'll get her through this. Hunter, though, that's another story."

Claudia looked at him curiously, "What did you say to Hunter to rile him all up?"

Jack had the audacity to look ashamed, but said in a cool voice "I implied that I had no qualms about taking his place and that I could easily get DNA results changed for Lisa's baby if I had to. I, uh, also told him that if the baby was a boy that we would name him after Roy."

Claudia burst out laughing and said, "Oh I can see why he reacted the way that he did. I'm surprised you're still in once piece Jack."

"Well, I'll admit, I may have taken it a bit far and I have been staying out of his way, but it's been nice spending time with Lisa."

"Any truth to those rumors that have been going around about the two of you?"

"No, there hasn't been anything happening between us but I wouldn't mind stepping up to the plate if she gave me any indication she was interested. Unfortunately, she's still hung up on Hunter but I do have a surprise for the both of them."

Claudia leaned forward, "What did you do Archer?"

Archer smiled at Claudia conspiratorially and pulled a small black box from his pocket. Before he opened it, Claudia whispered, "Oh no, you didn't"

Archer laughed and opened the box to reveal a dazzling 2 carat yellow diamond ring. "I made sure that they all knew who I was when I was perusing the jewelry cases and I could swear I saw the manager calling the paparazzi himself. It wasn't obvious but I definitely heard one or two clicks of a camera when I left the building. If this doesn't get Rick's goat, I don't know what will. Roy told me once his little brother was a bit dense when it came to women, but sheesh, I thought he was just kidding. "

"You sure this will work?" asked Claudia skeptically.

"Look you and the Admiral didn't have any other ideas, but I'll tell you that guy is as much in love with Lisa as she is with him. I may have gone a bit overboard but if this brings them together and he realizes that he needs to dump his little songbird then it's all good. She's still Riber's girl to me, but if he makes her happy then I'll support them. If he can't, then I will do what I promised Riber all those years ago and look after her myself."

"You're a good friend Archer, a crazy friend, but a good one,"said Claudia. "What about finding someone for yourself?"

Archer looked away for a moment, then said, "All the good ones have already been taken, but maybe I'll find someone for myself... I have to go now, but save me a dance for tonight Claudia." Jack stood up to leave and waited for Claudia to confirm his request.

Claudia smiled and nodded her head and said, "Until later Archer..."

* * *

Rick dressed with care that night. He was hoping to get a chance to see Lisa at the dinner dance tonight and wanted to look his best. He also felt better that Minmei had found a place, it was smaller than what she wanted but her Uncle Max helped her to cosign the place and she was moving in next week She watched Rick getting ready, wearing his dress uniform and realized that he really was quite handsome and she couldn't believe that Rick wasn't interested in her. She wondered if he had just gotten cold feet with her and maybe she could change his mind once she moved out. There had still been no signs of Captain Hayes returning to his life and Minmei thought that if she gave it sometime, maybe they could try again and work it out.

Rick was impatient to get to the dinner tonight. Miriya had done some sleuthing and found out that Lisa was going to attend and that there was rumor that there was going to some sort of announcement that night as well. Rick was hoping that he could get Lisa to dance with him, hoping that she wouldn't embarrass him by refusing and to let her know that he hadn't given up on her and that he wanted a second chance with her. With a final check of his dress uniform, Rick wished Minmei a good night and left, headed to the base where the dinner was going to held at the recently build banquet hall.

Lisa and Archer pulled up to the banquet hall in another one of Archer's vehicles, this time a classy 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish, Jack passed the key to the valet who gave an excited smile at the thought at being able to just park a car like that. Both Lisa and Jack wore their dress uniforms with Lisa wearing her hair in a elegant chignon at the base of her neck. She was a striking figure with her long dark blue skirt, scarlet cummerbund, white shirt and dark blue jacket with shoulder epaulets and gold piping. On her jacket a number of medals were displayed acknowledging the accolades she received during her years at the Academy, the final years of the Global Unification War and those she received during the Space War and Reconstruction. Many women looked up to Lisa and as she walked in that night on Jack's arm and there were many admiring glances and sighs as she took her seat.

Jack was proud of walking in with Lisa, he was proud of his friend's accomplishments and wanted to provide her as much support as possible. He didn't know of any of other lady except for a few that he would want to be seen with in this way and strode in proudly with Lisa on his arm. Lisa may not have known it, but many of the pilots and other officers thought that Lisa was quite beautiful but so unattainable and therefore they didn't attempt to try and get to know her better. It was her friends, who really knew how kindhearted, warm and generous she was, once they were able to break through the shields she put up.

Rick sitting with Max and Miriya watched as Lisa and Jack walked in together. Rick knew that he would have to wait til the dancing began to try and talk to Lisa and dinner couldn't be over fast enough for him. Rick could barely remember what was served for dinner and was impatient for the dinner to be over. At the end of the dinner, Admiral Gloval stood up to say a few words to the pilots and to the other officers and staff, thanking them for their hard work and commitment that they have made to the RDF and their continued commitment to protect humanity. Rick thought he felt Admiral Gloval's eyes on him during his speech and wondered if Gloval had heard the rumors about his supposed retirement as well and decided that he needed to make sure that Gloval knew that Rick wasn't going anywhere. Rick turned his attention back to Admiral Gloval as he finished his speech, "As we talk about commitment and the continued cause of the RDF, there is one person that tonight that the UEG and the RDF would like to recognize for her dedication and hard work, and it pleases me greatly to inform all of you here that Captain Lisa Hayes has been promoted to Major, effective immediately and will be working on a special project to ensure that humanity is not limited to the Earth as it's home, but will allow us to reach for the stars." As the room thundered in applause at Admiral Gloval's announcement, Lisa stood and saluted the room and accepted congratulations from those around her. Rick only two tables away was happy for Lisa and applauded quite loudly for her, proud of her accomplishment. Admiral Gloval excused himself after dinner and left with other senior members of the RDF leaving a more causal atmosphere for the dancing. Quite a few people wanted to talk to Lisa and congratulate her on her promotion so it was a while before Rick saw Lisa take to the dance floor on Jack's arm. Max and Miriya were already on the dance floor and he saw them speak a few words to Lisa and Rick saw Miriya give Lisa a big hug on the dance floor. It was nice to see Lisa so happy with a big smile on her face and Rick hoped that her goodwill would continue to include him when he approached her. The DJ had slowed down the music and Lisa and Jack were leaving the floor when Rick made his move approaching Lisa and Jack. He stopped right in front of them blocking their way to their seats and Rick smiled at the two of them. "Congratulations on your promotion Lisa, if anyone deserves one it's you."

Lisa not knowing what else to say thanked Rick and was about to move past him, when he said, "Would you dance with me, Lisa?" Jack about to pull Lisa forward past Rick, paused when Rick continued, "Everyone's looking at us, if you don't mind being base gossip this weekend, I suggest you say yes. It's just a dance Lisa, please say yes." Lisa looked at Jack and Jack gave her a little shrug. Rick hated the fact that Lisa seemed to be asking Jack for permission but was rewarded when Lisa, turned to him and held her hand out to him in acceptance. As they walked to the floor, a a ballad started playing and Rick took Lisa into his arms and held her right hand in his and pressed it close to his chest, over his heart. Lisa had her other hand on his left shoulder but was staring at the lapels of his dress uniform rather than looking at him. Rick, wanting to see her beautiful eyes, pulled her into him a bit tighter forcing Lisa to look up at him a bit. They stared at each other, lost in one another eyes, her green eyes filled with questions, while Rick's blue eyes tried to convey how much he loved her in his. The lyrics of the song* seemed to wash over them and formed a wall around them, separating them from the rest of the crowd. They weren't aware of the many eyes covertly watching them dance and the murmurs that ran through the room as the two seemed to ignore everyone around them. As the song started to end, Rick asked her softly, "Can we talk for just a few minutes? I need to clarify some things with you." Lisa wondering if what she saw in Rick's eyes were true, nodded her head and as the song ended, Rick pulled her into an empty anteroom next to the ballroom. The room was dark except for the moonlight streaming into the room and Rick found a light switch that turned on some of the recessed lighting, making the room a bit brighter but not by much. Rick led Lisa to the middle of the room where a fabric bench was situated and after he sat her on the bench, he paced back and forth in front of her wondering where to began. Lisa gave him a few moments but realizing nothing was coming forth from Rick, stood up and said quietly, "I think we should return. Jack's going to be looking for me and I need to get back."

Rick not knowing where to begin, said, "No, wait, Lisa, please, you need to listen to me just this once ok? I don't know what you've heard or what you think the truth is but I want you to hear it from me ok?"

Lisa nodded her head and sat back down. She wanted to hear what Rick had to say, she had cut him off at all the other opportunities and maybe, just maybe things weren't as hopeless as she thought if he was willing to face public ridicule if she had said no to his dance request. As she faced Rick and as he sat down taking her hands in his, they heard a loud commotion outside the room they were in. Startled and wondering what was going on, they were surprised when the door was flung opened and Minmei came rushing in followed by the the Trio, Claudia and Jack. Minmei who couldn't really see who Rick was with and was just glad to find him, was waving something in her hand, cried out to him. "Oh Rick, I'm so sorry, I didn't understand, but when I found this, it all started to make sense to me." Rick annoyed at the interruption and wondering what Minmei was doing there, stood up and approached Minmei, while Lisa retreated to her friends wondering what was going on. Sammie, Vanessa, and Kim were outraged that Minmei had forced her way into the party insisting on seeing Rick and had brought her to the anteroom in order to calm her down so that Rick could be found. They hadn't seen Lisa and Rick enter the room earlier although Jack and Claudia did, so when they saw the trio rushing Minmei into the other room, they had quickly followed to ensure nothing was said to make Lisa upset. The trio were babbling and and discussing whether to get an MP to remove the unwanted guest, while Lisa, Claudia and Jack stood there quietly watching the scene unfold. It wasn't until they heard Minmei said to Rick, "I understand now why you wanted me to go Rick, and I know now it's not because you don't love me. She's just trying to trap you Rick, and make you feel responsible for it. But it doesn't matter, we can raise the baby together if that's what you want."

At that last outburst there was silence in the room and a surprised "Oh" sound came from Lisa. The trio looked around confused and at that Claudia rushed Lisa from the room. Jack walked up to Minmei and snatched the sonogram photo she had in her hand and without a word walked out the room following Claudia and Lisa out. The trio quickly put two and two together and gave Rick the death stare before informing Captain Hunter that it is advised that him and his uninvited guest leave the party at once otherwise they would be forced to call the MP to remove her. Sammie did a pretty good impression of Lisa's Ice Queen look before exiting the room and Rick, who was just stunned by what just happened, turned on Minmei with a fury he had to repress and said with clinched teeth, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why don't you get it? Why would you do that...ughhhh! Just get out Minmei, please just pack your things tonight and just get out." Minmei looked stunned at Rick's outburst and burst in tears as Rick ran from the room.

Minmei had found the photo earlier that night in Rick's coat pocket, when she borrowed it to run to the store, her own coat was insufficient for the extra cold night. She was about to put her small wallet in the inner coat pocket, when she found the carefully folded picture and when she pulled it out and examined it. Minmei was sure that she finally understood the reason for Rick's tenseness and his lack of attention towards her. She thought that Rick was just being noble and was giving her up because he was afraid of what she would say when she discovered that Rick had gotten Lisa pregnant. She thought he would be relieved to hear that she would stay by his side and help him raise the baby if that is what he wanted and wasted no time in rushing over to the banquet hall to tell him that before he did anything foolish like commit himself to the ole sourpuss.

Rick, as he stormed out the room, asked an MP to ensure that Minemi left the banquet hall that night and later asked that they go to his home later to ensure that Minmei had cleared her things from his home and left the base. Rick went looking for Lisa, only to see her getting into Jack's car and driving away into the night. He spent the next two hours looking for them everywhere on base, Claudia's house, Lisa's home without any luck and Rick finally returned home angry and frustrated but found his home Minmei free. He quickly stripped the sheets that she had used and replaced them with clean sheets, unwilling to spend a night on the sheets that smelled like her. Rick spent a sleepless night wondering what had become of Lisa and how all the odds just seem to be stacked against him.

As for Lisa, Jack and Claudia determined it was better for her not to return home and so Jack drove a silent Lisa to the New Macross Continental Hotel and installed her into a large suite while Claudia returned to Lisa's home and her own, packed a few things that they would need for the hotel stay.

* * *

*Stay by Rhinanna and Mikky Ekko


	18. Chapter 18

Lisa awoke the next day, burrowing her head into the pillow as she wondered if the last night wasn't just a nightmare that she just need to wake up from. Slowly she opened her eyes, barely recognizing the large bright room she was in as the one that Jack had installed her in and realized that she didn't dream that Minmei really barged into the dance last night, accused Lisa of trying to trap Rick and had the audacity to imply that she, Minmei, would help raise the child with Rick. "Over my dead body," Lisa thought, angered by situation and threat that Minmei posed to her child. "If she thinks her and Rick are going to form a happy little family then she can just think twice about it." Grabbing her robe that she found on her bed, Lisa tied it on and walked across the plush carpeting to the double doors in front of her that led to the living room of the suite. Opening the double doors, Claudia and Jack looked up from the breakfast they were eating while they waited for Lisa to wake up. Claudia was glad to see the fiery look in Lisa's eyes and poured Lisa a cup of tea as she sat at the table looking at her and Jack. They gave her a few minutes before Jack asked her, "What do you want to do Lizzie?"

Lisa blew on her tea and took a sip of her tea before answering. "What I want to do is punch that little twit in the face and throw her off a cliff. Could you believe her last night? This isn't one of her lame drama's she's acting in. And Rick, I can't believe he just stood there, letting her go on and on. I don't know what I've saw in him, but if I never see him again, it will be too soon.. Ugh, how the hell did I get into this mess."

"Well, I heard that is was raining...,"said Jack.

"Not funny Jack!" yelled Lisa.

"Sorry, sorry...just answering your question there...but seriously, Claudia and I, we're here for you. You let us know what you want us to do and we'll take care of it. You want Minmei to disappear or you want Rick to meet with serious injury, I can make it happen."

Lisa looked at Jack and for a minute she thought that he was serious and while she would have loved to have said yes to one or both of his suggestions, she just said, "No, I just need to get away a bit, away from Macross, away from Rick and Minmei. I just want a couple of months to figure things out. I promised this baby I would do the best I could for him or her and right now I don't think I am doing that."

"Lisa, honey, you know Admiral Gloval loves you like his own, if you need to get away, I am sure he can make it happen. Why don't we call him a bit later and let him know what's going on. He'd want to do what he can to help...within reason of course." said Claudia, looking at Jack with a warning in her eyes.

Jack stood up folding the paper he was reading on the table. "Well, I have some things to do, like get the rest of my gear from your house before I leave tomorrow Lisa, but I've booked the room for you two for the rest of the weekend if you'd rather hole up here for a few days before you head home. Stay longer if you want, use the spa and amenities on me, the hotel has my card information. I'll stop by later and check on you two and we can have dinner together."

Lisa got up from her seat and hugged Jack "Thank you so much Jack, for everything. I'm sorry you got dragged into this and honestly I appreciate everything you've done for me. I don't know how I could have made it through the last three weeks without you."

"Anything for you Lizzie." A sad look crossed Archer's face but was quickly replaced with Archer's more mischievous smile, as he tweaked her nose and left the room. Lisa almost didn't see the pain that was in Archer's eyes, but ignored it and smiled for him continuing until he left the room. She sat down again next to Claudia at the table and Lisa had a small frown on her face. "Did you see it too?" Lisa asked, referring to the look of sadness that she saw on Archer's face before he left.

Claudia stirring some sugar into her coffee, responded with a slow nod of her head. "I only heard about what happened from Roy but I can see why Archer feels the way he does about you."

Lisa looked a bit sad, "I didn't really think about it like that.. I didn't met Archer until after it happened but I can see why he's been so protective of me. I just thought it was because he wanted to keep his promise to Karl, but I think it may be more than that. Anyway, I'm not 16 and pregnant. I'm going to be 28 in less than a month and am more than capable of affording and raising a child on my own."

"You're not going to be alone. You have me, and Sammie, Kim, Vanessa, Admiral Gloval and probably even Max and Miriya to help you out. Oh, I better call those girls and tell them to keep their mouths shut about what happened last night." Claudia ran to her room to get her cellphone and Lisa called after her, "why don't you invite them over here and we'll have a girl's day. After all, Jack did leave the hotel his credit card." Claudia waved her hand in acknowledgment to Lisa and went in to make the call and change her clothes while Lisa helped herself to a still warm chocolate croissant and refreshed her tea. Savoring the treat, Lisa tried not to think about the night before but found herself daydreaming about the dance that she and Rick shared and imagined a different ending than the one that they had. Lost in her own thoughts, she remembered the woodsy smell of Rick's cologne as he held her in his arms and could still feel his warm hand on her waist. She remembered the feel of his pounding heart under her palm as he pressed her hand to his chest, while he held her right hand in his own. She had been nervous and wondered if he could feel her trembling during the dance, but he didn't seem to notice, instead, holding her closer, gazing into her eyes, trying to convey a message with his own. She had wondered what he would have said to her if they had not been interrupted but didn't allow herself to dwell on it. Minmei's outburst led her to believe that Rick was willing to give up Minmei for her and the baby, but Lisa knew that wasn't any way to keep a man and knew that he would eventually come to resent her for keeping him from his one true love. Chin in her hand and lost in thought Lisa didn't notice Claudia watching her from her room. Claudia just shook her head and said to herself, "Silly girl, she's just as bad as the Trio. I don't know how she could think of forgiving him" Claudia returned to her room to change and dress, calling out to Lisa and interrupting her reverie to let her know the girls would be there in an hour.

Sammie, Kim and Vanessa arrived an hour later at the hotel suite, chattering away about the night before. They had so many questions for Lisa about what happened and Lisa decided to confide in them about her condition and what had been happening between her and Rick. They squealed when she told them about her pregnancy and hugged her quite a lot and told her that they would do anything that they could to help. Sammie admitted that they had speculated as much when Minmei had burst in and filled them in on what happened afterward between Rick and Minmei. "He thought we had left, but we were still outside the room, we didn't want others to accidentally come by and ask questions. I've never seen Captain Hunter so mad before," said Sammie. "Yeah, even though he didn't yell at her, the way that he told her to get out of his house, was so scary." interjected Kim. "I was actually worried he was going to slap her." Vanessa looked at them in annoyance, "Captain Hunter would never hit a lady, even one as annoying as Minmei. She's a great singer and beautiful to look at but her non singing voice is a bit irritating." They all laughed and Sammie continued to relay what happened after Lisa and Claudia left. "Captain Hunter asked an MP to make sure she left too. We drove by his house afterward and it didn't seem like it took her too long to leave. Like her stuff was already packed. When we drove by, a car was out front and Minmei was helping someone put her luggage in the car."

"He's really worried about you Lisa, he called everyone last night looking for you and Claudia. I felt a bit sorry for him, but after what you just told me, I don't know if he deserves any of my sympathy." said Kim a bit angrily.

Lisa thanked the girls for making sure that no one else was privy to the exchange that happened last night at the party as the last thing she wanted was to be in the entertainment news section again and if Minmei was involved she worried that this was going to all come out somehow. Reading her thoughts, Claudia asked Lisa what she wanted to do. "I'm not sure yet, thing have been happening so fast I haven't had any real time to think about it. Sometimes it's hard to believe myself that I'm pregnant, and if it wasn't for the nausea, I could hardly believe it myself."

It was Sammie who ended up providing the answer to the solution. "Maybe you should call Admiral Gloval."

Lisa was puzzled, "Now why would I do that?"

Sammie looking a bit sheepish, wouldn't look Lisa in the eye and mumbled, "because I kinda, sorta called him this morning and told him what happened last night."

"What? How could you do that Sammie, this isn't something that you needed to bother the Admiral with." sputtered Lisa.

Claudia looking thoughtful, tapped her finger against her lip and said, "Actually I think Sammie did the right thing. Gloval loves us all like his own daughters. He would want to know and I am sure that he might have a suggestion as to what to do." Lisa wasn't sure and didn't want to bother the Gloval on a Saturday with her personal problems.

Claudia finally pushed to her, "to change clothes and call Gloval" while she called down to the spa to make arrangements for the day.

Lisa reluctantly went to her room and pulled on the dark blue velour track suit with a black t-shirt underneath for the day. After brushing her teeth, washing her face and applying a moisturizer, brushing her hair and tying it into a cute ponytail, Lisa felt ready to face the day and decided to call Gloval before going out to the living room. She picked up her cell phone and saw the multiple missed calls from Rick and the text messages that he sent asking where she was. There was also a voicemail from him, where he asked her to please call him back and that Minmei was gone and he really, really needed to talk to her. Breathing in and out to slow down her beating heart, she paused before she deleted the voicemails, missed calls and text messages without reading them. She did send him one quick text saying, "I'm ok, need to think. Will contact you when ready, don't push." Not waiting for a response, she dialed Admiral Gloval's cell phone and wasn't surprised when he picked up after the first ring. He didn't act surprised when he called her and she didn't even have a chance to make her request for support from Gloval. "Ah, Major Hayes, it's good that you called me, I was just about to call you."

Playing along Lisa said, "Really sir? Well, what can I do for you?"

"Well I was talking to some of the members of the UEG last night after dinner and they want to move forward with officially putting together a spacial navy and air force. They are calling it "spacy" and would like me to go to Monument City to help with the charter. Since you will be heading the colonization mission and will be working closely with this organization, I recommended to the council that you attend in my place. I know that this is asking a lot of you but I was wondering if you would agree to go in my place, the council members approved as long as you would be willing to stay there for at least two months to help with the creation and organization of this new military branch. This is a great opportunity for you and I hope that you will accept."

Lisa smiled, this assignment was perfect for her needs and quickly accepted. "When would I need to leave?"

"Well under the assumption that you accepted, I have already contacted Captain Archer and asked if he could escort your shuttle tomorrow night to Monument City as the squad will pass it as they return to Granite City. I know this doesn't give you a lot of time to settle things here, but I think we can hold down the fort while you are gone."

Lisa didn't even have to think about the offer and told Gloval that she would gladly accept the offer. Gloval let her know that since the "Spacy" program was still confidential, her mission details were to be kept a secret. He also emphasized that she had to return in two months and that he could not be without her longer than that as there was much work to do with building the colonization ship. Lisa knew that Gloval was giving her the time she needed to figure things out and understood that after the two months, that she had to work things out with Rick. Lisa gave her acceptance to the terms and after hanging up with Gloval, returned to the girls outside to enjoy their day on Jack.

Gloval shook his head with a smile as he got off the phone with Lisa. When he had initially selected his bridge crew for the SDF-1, Gloval knew he was taking on a lot with an all female bridge crew but never thought that Lisa would be the one that would be the cause of all the drama. He had thought Sammie would have been the one with the numerous dramatic love affairs and that Lisa would be the one to deal with her antics. He hadn't been lying when he had said that Lisa was needed in Monument City to work on the "Spacy" planning. He had held the council off from requesting her presence hoping that her and Captain Hunter would resolve things between them, but after hearing what happened last night at the dance, with Lisa, Rick and Minmei, he didn't want to subject Lisa to the gossip that would undoubtedly come if this incident came to light. He had contacted the council after talking to Sammie letting them know that he changed his mind and agreed that Lisa should go now rather than later. Gloval could only delay the inevitable but knew when she returned to New Macross visibly pregnant that base gossip will go wild and hoped that she would be ready for it. Gloval made another call to the base making sure that Lisa's shuttle departure was kept secret and that Skull Squadron was not scheduled for patrol or any missions that day.

* * *

For Rick, he had awoken that morning, while it was still dark outside. He checked his phone to see if Lisa had returned any of his calls or messages and when dawn broke, he ran by her house and Claudia's to find them both empty. He had also texted Max to see if he knew anything or if Miriya had heard anything from Lisa or the other girls but received a negative answer from them. Max extended an invitation for Rick to come over for lunch and he reluctantly agreed but knew he could lean on Max and Miriya for support and it's one thing he needed right now. It was mid-morning when Rick finally received the text from Lisa and although it made him sad to see that she wasn't ready to talk, at least she had let him know that she was ok.

Lisa, Claudia, Sammie, Kim and Vanessa spent the day utilizing the spa services. They all received massages, although Lisa requested a modified one for her condition. She wasn't able to enjoy the steam room with the other ladies but received a facial during the time they were in the steam room, once they were all back together, the ladies enjoyed a spa lunch together consisting of a nut and fruit mixed green salad with either a salmon or chicken entree. After lunch they all had manicure and pedicures. Wanting something a bit different than her normal french manicure and clear polish on her toes, Lisa had both her nails and toes painted a scarlet red and admired the bright color against her pale skin and wondered why she had shielded away from color in the past. Determined to start fresh with the new opportunity in Monument City, Lisa wanted to get back a little of the the person she was before Karl's death, before the war, before the earth's destruction and reconstruction. She knew the work in Monument would not be easy but knew that with the baby on the way that she would need to limit her hours and change some of her bad habits. Overall, she was excited about the change and everyone was amazed at Lisa's good mood.


	19. Chapter 19

Jack Archer left the hotel that morning, got in his car and let himself into Lisa's home to pack up his luggage and take it back to the hotel. One the way back, he stopped to have lunch with his friend Francisco at his studio as planned and the two caught up about the changes in their lives since their last visit. "So what's the deal with Lisa?" asked Francisco frankly. Archer dated a lot of women before Dolza's attack and had the reputation of a heartbreaker, but the way that Archer cared for Lisa was not something he had every seen before. Jack sighed, he knew this was the question that Francisco inevitably would ask, and didn't mind answering him truthfully. "Lisa is everything a man could want, but some men are too stupid to know what they want, but Lisa is not the one for me. As tough as nails Lisa acts as work, I know that she's quite vulnerable and easily hurt. She doesn't deserve someone like Hunter after everything she's been through and if there is anything I can do to protect her, I will do it. I failed someone I loved once and I've never been able to forgive myself for that."

Francisco nodded, and leaned in and said, "I've heard some gossip through the grapevine about Minmei. It seems that all has not well between Minmei and Captain Hunter. Sounds like she's been trying to get back into the business bust hasn't had much success since most in the industry remember how she acted when Kyle was her manager and no one wants to deal with a spoiled pop princess. I also heard that her and Hunter have been over for a while even though he was letting her stay at his place. She confided in one of her close friends who works dressing models that Rick hadn't touched her since after New Year's. That night at the restaurant, I noticed them too, I mean who couldn't, the girl couldn't stop talking the whole night. Anyway, at first I thought he was just bored but Hunter kept looking over your way during the night. I had wondered what had drawn his attention but when I met your charming friend, I realized where his interest lie. He's in love with her isn't he?"

Archer chuckled a bit and said, "Yes, he very well maybe in love with her like he claims, but he hurt her. Until I'm satisfied he's not going to do it again, I'm not going to make it easy for him. I want him to suffer a bit like she did."

Francisco just shook his head, "Just don't take it too far Archer. I know you, you can be a bit ruthless sometimes."

Archer felt a bit bad about the barbs he had already flung at Hunter and said, "I won't take it too far, I promise."

It was about 5pm when Archer returned back tot he hotel knocking on the door to Lisa and Claudia's suite. He could hear the laughing and giggling of the girls inside and when he was allowed entrance he found the Trio a little tipsy on champagne, Claudia drinking a glass of red wine and Lisa napping in the bedroom. After visiting with them for a while, Archer had a car take the girls back to base and sent them back with two bottles of champagne and dinner from the hotel restaurant. They said their goodbyes and all gave Jack a kiss on the cheek thanking him for the day. After they left, Archer asked Claudia, with a smile, "I see you all had a good time."

Claudia added her thanks to the girls and said, "Yes, we all did. If you don't remember it's Valentine's Day. I didn't want to remind any of them but I think that they had a better time today than if they went on some date with some random guy that asked. Why don't you take Lisa downstairs to dinner when she wakes up. I'm tired after all the excitement from last night and today. Those girls can wear you out."

Lisa came out of her bedroom at the point, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Archer could see that Lisa looked happier and more relaxed than in the morning and was glad to see her in such a good mood. He mentioned Claudia's idea for them to grab dinner downstairs, and Lisa thought it was a great idea but was concerned about the lack of appropriate clothing for the 5 star restaurant downstairs and she didn't want to wear her dress uniform again. Jack just smiled and said that he had the perfect thing for her. From a large bag he pulled out a clothing box with the logo of Francisco's coveted brand on the box. He handed the large box to Lisa. "Jack, you've already done so much, you don't need to do more." Jack just held up his hands indicating that he wasn't guilty of this one and said, "It's a gift from Francisco."

Lisa put the box on the table and opened it. Inside the tissue paper she found a scarlet red silk sheath dress with dolmen sleeves, the silk tissue thin and soft to the touch. A thin, gold tasseled chain was included in the box with adjustable links to alter where the dress could be cinched and Jack pulled a smaller box out from the bag that contained a pair of thin gold high strappy high heels in Lisa's size. Claudia just smiled and said, "Looks like your fairy godfather came through for you Cinderella." Claudia and Lisa retreated to her room to get her ready while Archer returned to his room across the hall to get ready.

Jack returned to let them know that dinner was set for 7pm and at 6:50, he knocked on the door to the suite to find Lisa waiting for him in the living room. Her hair had been freshly washed and curled and then pulled up halfway off her face with a few layers framing her face. She wore a pair of dangling chandelier earrings that Claudia had ran down to the hotel boutique to buy and Claudia and Lisa had played with the chain belt finding the right placement for it. Jack wore a dark grey suede sportscoat, black dress shirt and trousers and looked quite handsome to both Lisa and Claudia. As they left the room, Claudia jokingly warned them not to get in trouble and Lisa responded with a pat to her belly, "I think it's a little too late for that mom." Jack escorted Lisa down the glass elevator and into the hotel lobby where they passed the bar full of patrons and walked into the restaurant located in the hotel. There were whispers and glances and Jack escorted Lisa to their table and passing though, Lisa noticed Max and Miriya at one of the tables and stopped to say Hi to the two of them. They were both polite to Jack but Lisa noticed that their greetings lacked the warmth they normally exhibited but seemed very pleased to see Lisa and both gave her a big hug. After a few minutes of idle chitchat and promises between Lisa and Miriya to catch up, Jack and Lisa took to their table.

Once Lisa and Jack had left and sat down, Max pulled out his phone and sent Rick a quick text. "Lisa, Jack at restaurant, new macross continental hotel." Miriya finally noticing Max's texting, whispered, "What are you doing?" before leaning over to see his message. He had just hit the send button, when Miriya said, "Are you crazy? You saw how Rick was this afternoon. He's going to come running over here like a madman.. Tell him you were wrong and it was someone else, before he ruins the night for everyone."

It was over an hour after Max sent the message before Rick saw the text. He had spent the hours after he returned from Max's cleaning his small house, washing the blankets and removing all traces of Minmei. After staring at the poster of her on his bedroom door for a few minutes, Rick pulled the poster down, rolled it up and trashed it. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been over her, he hated himself for hurting Lisa. He hadn't wanted to stand Lisa up that day of the picnic, he was excited about seeing her again especially after the night they spent together and her long trip away to Monument City and couldn't wait to see if there was more to their relationship then that one night. When Minmei called that morning, he tried to tell her that he was busy, but she wouldn't take no for an answer and in a way Rick wanted to see her to make sure he was over her. He was relieved when he found that those old feelings for her didn't come rushing back when he saw her and was glad when Kyle pulled her away. He had tried to get in contact with Lisa to explain his delay, but she hadn't answered her phone or texts. When he found her still waiting at the cafe for him, he felt a sense of relief and wanted to just spend the rest of the day in her company. He had forgotten the monogram that Minmei had put on the scarf and when Lisa picked up on that plus Minmei's perfume on it, Rick knew that any chance he had Lisa was pretty much destroyed. It hadn't kept him from trying to get her to talk to him so he could apologize and try again. Rick finally noticing the blinking blue light on his phone, read the message from Max and debated whether or not he should go see Lisa for himself. Finally, needing to see for himself whether or not Lisa was truly happy with Archer, he decided to go down to the restaurant and take a look.

Jack and Lisa had just finished dinner and the plates had been cleared waiting for dessert. During dinner they had kept themselves entertained by observing the other couples around them and making up stories about them and their relationship. It had been fun and Archer was glad to keep things light between them. Before dessert arrived, Jack cleared his throat, "Lisa, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Sensing the seriousness of his tone, Lisa looked at him attentively and Jack continued. "You know I just want the best for you right?"

Lisa nodded her head and said slowly, "Yes..."

"And you know that you can count on me to be there for you right, no matter what?"

Lisa wondering where this was all going responded with another cautious "Yes..."

Knowing that Jack probably had some crazy plan in mind, Lisa looked at him cautiously. "Jack what are you thinking...?"

"I want you to marry me," said Jack, taking Lisa's hand.

Lisa wasn't sure if Jack hadn't lost his mind. She leaned in towards him and said in a whisper, "Jack, you can't be serious. If you haven't noticed, I'm carrying someone else's baby. Why on heaven's name would you want to marry me?"

Jack said seriously, "I just think that right now I'm the one that can take care of you and the baby best. Hunter doesn't seem to have your best interests at heart and I want to be able to protect you if him and Minmei tries anything."

Lisa was speechless and said, "Jack, I appreciate the concern but I think I can take care of myself."

Jack persisted with his reasoning, "Lisa, I think we would do very well together and you should be sensible about this. You know we could be happy together, and god knows we all need a bit of happiness in our lives.

"Jack, I'm flattered.. I really am, but I don't think you are doing this for the right reasons. I do love you, but not like that and I've never thought that you felt that way about me." Lisa didn't know what else to say, the proposal came out of left field and was so unexpected. She continued, "I know that you made a promise to Karl to take care of me but I don't think he meant for you to take it so far and I wouldn't feel right Jack. I know that I'm a bit jaded but I still believe that marriage should be because two people love each other and not for any other reasons."

Jack knew at that point he couldn't convince Lisa and capitulated, deciding to change tactics. "Ok, ok, I know it was a long shot asking you but you know I don't like to see you going through this alone when I can do something about it."

Lisa was touched by his concern. "I know Jack, I know."

Jack decided to try one more play, "I even bought a ring y'know.. wanna see it?"

Lisa hesitated, she could see the playful look in Jack's eyes and that mischievous look he gets when planning something. It was a look she used to see a lot when they were younger and wondered what Jack did. She decided to hold firm and not play his game. "Jack, no, I don't think it's a good idea."

"C'mon, it can't hurt to look at it could it?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Before Lisa could respond Jack whipped out a little black box from his pocket and opened the box.

Lisa gasped putting a hand to her mouth, "Oh my..what did you do Jack...you maybe made of money, but doesn't mean you should waste your money on frivolous things."

"Oh I would call this one more of an investment than a waste Lizzie. Even if you aren't going to take it, you should try it on. " Jack quickly plucked the ring from the box, picked up her left hand that was on her lap and slid the ring onto her finger. "You sure you don't want to change your mind?"

Taking a quick glance around Jack noticed that quite a few eyes were on them, even though Lisa didn't notice. Neither of them saw a solitary figure hiding behind some foliage watching the two of them. Rick had asked the restaurant host to fetch Max when he arrived at the restaurant, not wanting to walk in and totally disrupt his date with Miriya and while the host went to go look for him, Rick used the opportunity to spy on Lisa and Jack. Seeing them sitting so closely together, Rick had to admit that they looked good together. He watched as Jack took Lisa's hand in his and even thought it was painful to watch, he couldn't take his eyes off the two of them. He saw Jack withdraw from his pocket a small black velvet box and open it. Rick watched as Lisa gasped and put her hand up to her mouth in awe and watched as Jack pulled the ring from the box and placed it on her ring finger. Rick couldn't stay any longer at that point and ran out the restaurant, as the walls around him came tumbling down. Max came to the front of the restaurant looking for Rick and when he didn't see him, shrugged and figured that Rick must have changed his mind about trying to see Lisa and returned to finish dessert with Miriya.

As for Lisa, she couldn't help but stare at the ring on her finger. The large 2 ct yellow diamond was dazzling and twinkled under the light of the restaurant. She didn't want to but she held out her hand to admire the ring but admitted to herself and to Jack that it wasn't really her style and that of course Jack would pick out the most ostentatious ring. Most of the patrons assuming that she had said "yes" when Jack put the ring on her finger, turned their attention back to their own dates and didn't notice Lisa pulling the ring off her finger and putting it back into the box and sliding the box back towards Jack saying, "You're crazy you know that." Jack just laughed. He knew that scene was good enough to keep tongues wagging in this city.

Lisa excused herself to use the ladies room and while she was refreshing her makeup in the retiring room, Lisa was happy to see Miriya enter. The two chatted a bit about the food and the restaurant ambiance and Miriya was about to leave when Lisa stopped her. "Miriya, would it be okay if I stopped by tomorrow afternoon around 2? I want to talk to you and Max and I haven't seen little Dana in a while." Miriya always happy to see her friend and curious to hear what Lisa wanted to say, agreed and decided to keep this info from Max until tomorrow. She didn't want him blabbing to Rick about Lisa's visit and wanted a chance to talk to her on her own. The two friends hugged and Miriya left the room to find Max to dance to a song or two before returning home.

When Lisa returned to the table, she asked if they could retire for the night as she had a lot to do the next day for her move to Monument and Jack agreed, taking her elbow and escorting her up to her room. Others, just thought the two lovebirds wanted to be alone.

Sunday morning, Lisa and Claudia checked out of the hotel around 9am, Lisa was eager to get home and pack before leaving for Monument.

* * *

Rick, slept the whole day, nursing a hangover. He had left the restaurant numb and didn't really even remember how he got home. He spent the remainder of the night with a good bottle of scotch that Roy had given him, hoping that the alcohol would sear away the image of Jack putting that ring on Lisa's finger.

Lisa rang the bell to Max and Miriya's house and waited for them to answer the door, she brought with her a gift of some gourmet cheese and salami that she had picked up that morning from a charcuterie and a small stuffed bunny rabbit for Dana. She hoped that the interest and concern that Max and Miriya gave her last night at the restaurant was sincere. She wanted to be the one to tell them about her pregnancy if Rick had not already and to ask that they watch over him while she was gone and that he not do anything stupid.

Max opened the door with little Dana in his arms and the smiling baby giggled and waved, happy to see the pretty lady with the long hair and smiling eyes. Lisa greeted Max but truly only had eyes for Dana, she quickly took Dana from her father's arms and cuddled the baby, taking in her sweet scent and showing her the little bunny she brought her. Max invited Lisa in and as Lisa sat on the recliner and playing with Dana, Miriya came into the room and set down some cookies and lemonade. The three talked about Dana and how fast she was growing and all the new things that she could do. Lisa asked many questions and cooed to Dana about how proud of her she was and that Auntie Lisa was happy that Dana was such a smart little baby. Dana , feeling warm, cherished and loved, felt comfortable enough to take a nap in Lisa's arms and as Lisa watched her sleep, Miriya bluntly decided to get to the point. "Lisa, as much as we know you love Dana, I don't think she's the only thing that brought you here today am I right?" Still watching Dana sleep, Lisa answered, "No, you're right.. there's more." Finally looking up at the two sitting on the couch, Lisa smiled. "You know I cherish you too and consider the two of you some of my closest friends. I know I've been a little distant lately and I want to apologize. The situation with Rick was just too much for me to handle and I want you to know how much it meant for me to have your support. I hope that you can understand my decision now and support me in it." Lisa paused, tearing up. "I don't know how much Rick has told you, but I'm almost 3 months pregnant now." Max and Miriya both looked at each other and Max said quietly, "I know Lisa, Rick told me." Miriya shot him a look at that told him that they would be discussing the matter later, said to Lisa, "He didn't tell me, but I guessed based on some how you've been feeling lately." Lisa nodding her head and blowing her nose on a tissue continued. "I'm glad, I was planning to tell everyone myself, and I just told Sammie, Vanessa and Kim, yesterday. Well, I guess technically Minmei spilled the beans on that one."

Max and Miriya, who had heard from Rick about what happened on Friday night, smiled at Lisa giving her the encouragement to go on. "I don't know why this is so hard to say, but I wanted to let you know that I've been reassigned and am going to gone from New Macross for about two months. I don't plan to see him before I go, but will you make sure he's ok when I am gone. I'm not sure what's going on between him and Minmei right now, and I'm not sure about how I feel about him anymore either. It's crazy huh? But I need a little time to get away and to think and figure out what I'm going to do. I'm going to return though, I promise." Lisa openly crying now and still holding Dana, felt Max take his sleeping daughter from her arms, while Miriya pulled Lisa into a tight hug. They tried to convince Lisa to stay and told her that Rick loved her and was desperate to get her back. After drying her tears, Lisa said resolutely, "If he truly loves me, he'll wait." Max knowing that Rick would want to know asked whether or not she was going to be with Archer asked her and Lisa just shook her head negatively and said, "he's just a good friend. I hope Rick can understand that." After giving their promise to watch over Rick and that Lisa should contact them if she had questions about her pregnancy or just wanted someone to talk to, that they would be there for her, they said their farewells to her as a military jeep arrived to take Lisa to the shuttle. Her luggage had already been taken the shuttle and loaded earlier in the day.

Before boarding the shuttle that would take her to Monument City, Lisa slipped into Rick's office and left a letter for him on his chair. She didn't want it to get lost on his mess of a desk and hoped that one day he would forgive her for leaving.

Jack waited til he saw Lisa board the shuttle before contacting her in her seat.

"Alright there Liz?"

"I'm ok Jack, thanks for asking."

"Well we're going to be taking off in 10 min, so just relax and enjoy the ride"

It was a four and half hour flight to Monument City and Archer jumped out of his fighter when the shuttle landed to say goodbye to Lisa as well.

Lisa clung to Jack for a few moments before letting him go and Jack said to her, "Be safe Lizzie, and thank you again for saving me from those awful military beds. If you need me, I can be back in a heartbeat. You know I'd do anything for you."

Lisa laughed and the two promised to keep in touch. Jack had debated whether to tell Lisa about what he had done to Rick over the last couple of weeks, but decided to wait until he reached Granite City, another 700 miles away before telling her. He didn't want to be there when she yelled at him.


	20. Chapter 20

Rick walked into his office at 8am. He couldn't wait to be out of his house that morning and still wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody not even Max. Both him and Miriya tried to get a hold of him on Sunday but Rick just wanted to wallow in his own misery. He couldn't ever remember feeling this bad, except when Roy died, but that had been a different type of feeling and of course, he had Lisa by his side supporting him during that time. It didn't help that the very thing he wanted to forget was blazoned on front of the entertainment news section of the paper, where two photos were printed, one of Jack coming out of New Macross's most prestigious jewelry store swinging a little bag and another of Lisa and Jack at the restaurant, with Jack presenting an open ring box to Lisa and Lisa looking surprised with her hand over her mouth.

"Looks like Wedding Bells are in the Air!"

Could it be that Captain Jack Archer and Captain Lisa Hayes are engaged? We captured Captain Archer coming out of New World Jewelry on Friday afternoon with a spring in his step and bag in hand. It seems these two military heroes can't get enough of each other as they apparently checked into the New Macross Continental Hotel on Friday night after a formal event at the base and were seen having Valentine's Day dinner at the hotel. We hear that Captain Hayes spent the day luxuriating in the spa in preparation for the romantic night and was wearing a stunning red silk dress to dinner that was last seen in Francisco Vega's latest runway show. Mr. Vega and Captain Archer are apparently good friends and the dress was gifted to Captain Hayes by him, maybe as an early engagement gift. We've tried to contact both Captains for comment but were unsuccessful, but wanted to wish them the best of luck.

As for our other favorite couple, Minmei and Captain Hunter, there had been no word or sighting of the two of them. We were hoping for a glimpse of them this weekend but it seems that Captain Hunter maybe more camera shy then his peers. It was rumored that Minmei was seen on the second level of her family's Chinese restaurant on Saturday night and we assume the two spent a quiet night in.

Rick violently pulled the rolling chair out from under his desk causing something to fall on the floor. Rick sighed and leaned down to pick up whatever dropped and turned the envelope over to see his name written in Lisa's handwriting. Trembling he sat down at his desk to open the letter but didn't want to read Lisa's letter, He assumed it was telling him about her and Jack's engagement. Pissed that she wouldn't tell him about it herself, after all, she was carrying his baby, Rick ripped the envelope open and unfolded the letter and steeled himself to read about Lisa and Jack's happiness together.

Rick,

You're right in thinking I'm pathetic for not coming to see you face to face, but I didn't think I would be strong enough to tell you in person. I hope you get this before you hear about it from others, so I'll just come out and tell you that I've been temporarily reassigned and by the time you get this, I've already left New Macross. I hope you can understand why I needed to get away. It's only for a few weeks. I promise I will be back soon and hopefully at that point we can talk in a sensible manner and make some decisions about the future. I know we can't return to the way that we used to be, but ask that you remember the better times we had and know that I still care deeply for you and your friendship.

Your truly,

Lisa

* * *

Rick finished the letter and threw it on his desk and ran out of his office to the RDF administration building looking for Admiral Gloval. He ran into the building and hit the elevator button to the top floor and exited the 5th floor to where Gloval's office had been moved to since the destruction of the SDF-1 and 2. Gloval's assistant, Sergeant Hill, stood up when Captain Hunter entered and stopped him from rushing into Gloval's office. "Sir, Captain Hunter, sir.. Admiral Gloval is not here yet." Rick starting asking Sergeant Hill questions about when Gloval was expected to arrive, what did he know about Major Hayes's assignment, where did she go and when was she coming back. Rick continued to grill the poor sergeant who attempted to respond to the Captain and reason with him to suggest that he schedule an appointment with the Admiral if he had concerns he wanted addressed. Fuming, Rick was about to lay into the poor sergeant, when Admiral Gloval entered the office. Both Rick and Sergeant Hill saluted the Admiral and with a hard look at Rick, Gloval nodded to him and motioned him to enter his office.

Rick entered the office and started pacing, he waited for the Admiral to sit down behind his desk before addressing him. Rick opened his mouth to start but stopped when Gloval held up his hand. "Captain Hunter, I know why you are here and unfortunately I cannot help you. Her assignment is classified as her location. If it makes you feel better, the assignment is temporary and Major Hayes will be returning to New Macross at the end of the assignment. Hunter, you are a excellent pilot and leader, the RDF needs men like you to lead the next generation to ensure the survival and safety of the human race. Your behavior lately though has been questionable and I suggest you use this time to re-prioritize your life and determine what is important to you. I know that the last three years have been difficult for you, thrust into a life and responsibilities you didn't want, but you're here now and I hope that you will make the best of it. Do you have anything you wish to say?"

Rick, who hadn't expected Gloval to respond in the manner he did, didn't know what to say. Rick a bit calmer now was silent. Gloval seeing that Rick was listening, continued on. "I know it may not seem appropriate to say that Claudia, Lisa, Vanessa, Kim and Sammie, are like daughters to me. As a father, I want to see all my girls find partners worthy of them. They are all strong women and even though it may not seem that they need anyone else in their lives, I've listened to them enough to know their hopes and dreams. I shouldn't say this but Lisa maybe the most vulnerable of them all, losing her mother at at young age, and then losing the one man that seemed to understand Lisa and love her even though her family stood for everything he was against. I had high hopes for you Hunter, that you would be the one to wake the princess, but even I admit that I may have been wrong."

"You're not wrong sir," Rick said in a strong voice. "I'll be the first to admit that my recent actions do not reflect well on me either as an officer, or as a man and I want to assure you that is going to change. I have already made some improvements to my current living situation and want you to know that I never had any plans or thoughts of leaving the RDF. I am fully committed to the cause and you have my complete support."

"Good, good, I'm glad to hear that, Hunter. I was hoping you would come around. You may be young, but I think you would make a excellent father and I would hate for you to be denied the full experience, if you had to share those responsibilities with another."

Rick flushed red, he knew that Gloval was referring to Archer's attentions to Lisa and wondered if Gloval was admitting support in favor of Rick over Archer and hoped that was the case. Gloval stood up and came around his desk and started to walk Rick to the door. "There has been too much separation and loss of families during the war and I think it's important we do everything we can do to keep families together... don't you agree, Hunter?" Rick nodded his head in agreement and Gloval showed him out saying, "I'm glad we agree on that, I can't wait to see my grandchild." With that Gloval closed the door on Rick and Rick was left standing outside Gloval's door, still with no real answers to where Lisa was.

* * *

Rick returned to the hanger and went into the locker room to change for patrol. His visit to Gloval had made him late and the other pilots not knowing that Rick had already been on base for over an hour, looked in askance of him as he hurried in to the locker room to change. Instead of asking him how his weekend went or talking about other banalities, the squad hurriedly left the locker room to check on their fighters before starting patrols and missions for the day. Max expecting Rick to be in worse shape after the past weekend, waited for the others to leave before approaching his friend.

"I tried calling you this weekend, but I didn't hear back from you, Miriya and I were getting a bit worried."

Rick pulling his helmet from the top shelf of the locker, just said, "yeah, I wasn't good company this weekend... " Rick wondering if Max, knew anything about Lisa and Jack continued, "so umm, did anything else interesting happen?"

Max not quite sure what Rick was referring to and not sure if Rick knew that Lisa had left just said, "We had an interesting visit from a mutual friend of ours. She's had to go on a little trip for a while but assured us that she would be returning soon." Rick nodded and clapped Max on his back. "Thanks for letting me know. She left me a letter, but I'd like to hear what you and Miriya have to say too. You're both great friends and I'm lucky to have you two in my life."

The two pilots left the locker room and as they boarded their Veritech's, Max gave Miriya a thumbs up. She nodded her head, smiled, pulled her helmet over her long green hair and pushed a button on her control panel, closing the canopy to her Veritech.

The day had been long for the Skull Squadron, after the morning patrol, the bridge had sent them to deal with two Zentraedi complaints. Both were resolved peacefully, but it took time to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the still Macronized Zentraedi and the inhabitant of a small town west of New Macross. Rick hoped that the UEG and RDF found some solutions to address the Zentraedi issues and even though they no longer had a leader in Khyron, it wouldn't be long before someone else united the malcontents. Flying back into base and as the sky was streaked in reds and pinks as the sun was setting, Rick decided to address his squad in the air, where he felt the most comfortable. He opened up the squad's TacNet channel and as they all responded to his check in, Rick gave an impromptu speech. "I know that I haven't been acting like a leader lately, and I know that I've allowed my personal life to affect my work and this team. I want to apologize to each and everyone of you for my behavior and hope that you can forgive me. I want to let you know that I have no plans nor did I have plans to leave the RDF or this excellent squad. In other words ladies and gents, you're stuck with me." Rick heard a few chuckles from the squad but didn't finish there. "I also want you to know that I am a damn fool and know that I hurt one of the most amazing women in the RDF with my insensitivity and stupidity. I want you all to know that I've come to my senses and have done a bit of housecleaning this weekend." Rick could hear some cheers coming from the squad and as they died down, Rick closed out by saying, "I won't let you guys down." Rick had to endure a few good natured comments and ribbing from the team for the next few minutes before the base came into view and Rick felt better than he had in a long time when the squad landed and their exit to the hanger was reminiscent of better times, laughing and talking, such a contrast to start to the morning's patrol.

Max came up to Rick and slapped him on the back, the other hand carrying his helmet "Good speech boss, I'll met you in your office in 30?"

Rick nodded and went to clean up and change and wait for his friends.

* * *

Rick stared at his computer and the blank email screen he had up. Max and Miriya had left a few hours ago where Max and Miriya recounted to Rick Lisa's visit the day before. Rick had been glad to hear that Lisa wore no visible ring on her finger and made no mention of Jack other than to confirm his status as her friend. Rick still didn't trust Archer and couldn't be sure that Lisa and Archer weren't together but it gave him some hope that all was not lost. It had taken Rick some time to think about what to do. His first instinct had been to do whatever he could to find Lisa and where she was located. He had tried calling and texting Lisa on her personal mobile phone but was disheartened to find the service suspended, and he knew that he couldn't go to Claudia for it as he was sure she would have a way to reach her friend. At this point he wasn't above bribing one the Trio to get that information. Even if they hadn't heard from Lisa directly, he knew one of the three would have some inking of where she was. Unfortunately, he knew that the Trio's loyalty was to Lisa as they saw her and Claudia as their older sisters. With no clear idea of where to start, Rick started cleaning out his personal email box and found a potential solution. About six months after the Dolza's Rain, Lisa had taken a few days personal leave to check on her family's estate. Rick had wanted to escort her to the property, which was luckily deemed in a safe zone for population relocation, but could not be spared and Lisa traveled with a supply and provisioning caravan that was heading out to provide relief to those that were still out there. Mobile phone reception was unreliable and Rick had asked her to try and send him some type of communication letting him know that she was ok. She had giggled a bit at his seriousness when he asked her to contact him somehow and made a comment that, "he was just as bad as her father had been and wanted to know if she had a curfew as well." Looking back, Rick remembered the anxiousness he had felt when she had told him about her trip. She didn't exactly have the best track record of not needing rescuing every time she left the SDF-1 and Rick didn't like her going without him. He realized now that his anxiousness over her trip was just a mask for the growing attraction he had felt for his commanding officer. He had worried about her the whole time she had been gone, only slightly relieved when he had received a email from her from an unknown domain name letting him know that she had arrived safely and that things were better at the property than expected and that she would tell him all about it when she returned. When Lisa had gotten back from her trip and Rick had asked about the email address, Lisa mentioned that the estate's communication system had been upgraded by her father while she was in space and one that she would continue to use for personal use. He had been shopping with Lisa enough to know that this was the same email address that she gave when placing orders or when signing up promotions by new merchants. It was this address he typed in hoping that Lisa would at least check this address once during her mission.

To: lhayes

From: flyboyRH

Sent: February 16th, 8:03pm

Subject: Your note

Lisa,

I hope that you still check this address occasionally, as you can see from my subject line – I got your note. I wish you had given me a chance to explain things to you and to see you before you left, but could understand if it was difficult for you. I want you to know that I care about you too and will be waiting each day for your return. I don't know how long you will be gone for but hope that you will let me know how things are progressing with the pregnancy and that you call me immediately if you need me. I hope that we can meet soon and talk as there is a lot we need to clear up.

Rick


	21. Chapter 21

Two weeks had passed since Lisa left New Macross. The first couple of days were a bit hectic for her as she was settled into a two bedroom apartment near the heart of Monument City and the government buildings. Acting as liaison between the UEG and RDF in creating "Spacy" her role was unclear at first and spent the first couple of days working with the committees to define her role and responsibilities. She sent back an official report to Gloval that first week, who commended her work and let her know that feedback from the UEG had been positive about her and that Gloval had made the right choice in sending her as his proxy to represent the interest of the military. Lisa was also given office space in the RDF building along with three aides to help her manage the increasing amount of work. The three woman she worked with reminded her very much of the Trio back home except that these ladies were about the same age as Lisa and were at very different stages of their lives. Charlotte, was a an athletic brunette, a few years old than Lisa, with a partner named Penny and they had two adopted children. Louisa, a perky blond was still single but happy in her singledom and enjoyed going out with her girlfriends after work. Mariah, at 26 was the youngest, but already married for two years. All three had had joined the RDF after Dolza's attack. They had not known each other before they had joined the RDF but met during the first week of training and had managed to stay together, forming a new family in the aftermath of the destruction. They had been worried when they heard that their new boss was going to be the Ice Queen of New Macross. Lisa's exploits were legendary and the rumors that surrounded her, especially around her temper were well known and the three were cautious about working for her. They were surprised to find a young woman about their own age, in the break room making tea that first day who introduced herself as Major Hayes and explained that, "she wasn't quite sure what she was doing there yet, but hoped between the four of them, they would be able to figure it out."

Lisa met with each of the woman individually and then later as a group to discuss the areas she wanted each of them to be responsible for and their assignments. They found Lisa to be incredibly bright, catching on quickly to the lay of the land and easily dealing with the different committees and their own political agenda. Lisa was a demanding taskmaster, but took the time to explain why she wanted certain information or data presented in a certain way so that the woman learned why they were providing the data and the purpose of the report so that each could put their own thought and analysis into it, instead of mindlessly churning out data. While they were curious about her personal life, they knew that she was single but weren't able to discern any additional information since Lisa's desk was free of any personal effects. While there was a lot of work to do, Lisa found that she actually had more free time on her hands than she did in Macross. She wasn't expected to meet with the committees everyday and once a schedule was established, Lisa found that she didn't have to spend all the time in the RDF office as well and while she still put in a lot of time into work, the hours she worked, allowed her the freedom to explore Monument a bit more than she had at home. Since her apartment was located downtown instead of on a base, Lisa was quickly able to see the advantages of living in the city and was eager to partake of the cultural activities.

Settling in quickly, Lisa missed her friends back home but felt a sense of freedom of being away from New Macross It was a relief not to deal with the daily gossip, the anxiousness of possibly seeing Rick and Minmei and Lisa physically felt better as the nausea of the first trimester faded.

* * *

Lisa came into the office beaming from ear to ear. Charlotte and Mariah looked at each other and grinned. They had never seen Lisa look so happy and wondered what caused it. Louisa whispered that she had checked Lisa's digital calendar and said that Lisa had blocked off a chunk of time earlier that day and was obviously just returning. As Lisa made her self a cup of tea, Charlotte decided to take the opportunity and teasingly asked Lisa if she had met a hot guy for lunch. Lisa laughed a bit and blushed and the other two woman joined in asking Lisa questions asking who it was and where did they meet. Quite a few people had asked the three about Lisa, some just curious about her but others were interested in asking her out and the three woman asked if Lisa had finally accepted one of the lunch dates she had been beleaguered with. Lisa, who normally kept her private life private, was bursting to share her news. She fended off their questions gracefully especially as they got more outrageous and improbable and the four women enjoyed a good laugh together. Lisa, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, finally sat down on the break room chair to catch her breath. The others also settled down and still chuckling they waited for Lisa to tell them where she had been and looked at her expectantly. Lisa still smiling, took a deep breath and said, "There is someone in my life, but he or she won't be here for a few more months." Lisa pulled the latest sonogram photo out of her tablet case and showed it to the women. Quickly understanding what Lisa was sharing with them, the woman ah'd and oh'd over the small photos and each gave her a quick hug and a word of congratulations. Knowing that they women had questions, Lisa quickly said, "the father is stationed in New Macross, we've run into a bit of a rough spot, and are taking a break, but I hope that we will be able to work it out."

It was Charlotte who broke the silence and hugged Lisa again. "No worries, Captain, we'll take good care of you and hopefully your man will come around and you two will work it out. Although if he doesn't, I know a few good women that would be interested."

Lisa laughed and the woman patted her and told her to stay positive. Lisa looked at the photo of the life growing inside and smiled. She knew what she had to do.

To:flyboyRH

From: lhayes

Date Sent: February 26, 1:56pm

Subject: Re: Your note

Rick,

I'm sorry that I haven't written back to you sooner, I should have taken the time to respond back to you when I got your note but I didn't really know what to say. I hope you can forgive me. I want you to know that everything is going well and am feeling physically a lot better. The nausea and tiredness has seemed to disappear and my energy levels are back to where they used to be...even without coffee! I wanted to let you know that I went to see the doctor today and things are going well. I also had another ultrasound done and have attached the photos. Look how big the baby has gotten. You can see the head profile so clearly and just look at his little arms and his little legs. I can't tell you how happy I am to see that he is doing so well. I know I am calling the baby a him, but I really don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, the doctor said that I maybe able to find out in another 8 weeks but I didn't like the idea of calling the baby "it" until then. I hope you are ok with that.

Yours,

Lisa

Rick checked his email after lunch like he had daily for the last 10 days. He was getting discouraged that Lisa hadn't responded back to his email and wondered if he got the email address right. Claudia and the Trio had started to finally thaw out and talk to him once it was known that Minmei had moved out and that Rick was no longer seeing her. Rick had gone to see Claudia directly and talk things out with his big brother's girlfriend. With Lisa gone, she was more willing to hear his side of the story and told her what really happened between him and Minmei. Claudia just shook her head after hearing his story and said, "It's not me you have to convince. Even with Minmei leaving, she might not be able to forgive you. You may not know this, but she's been in love with you a long time and you totally disregarded her feelings and treated her so poorly. Give her the time she's asked for and let her come around on her own. Maybe if you two had been able to talk it out then, you wouldn't be living in two different cities right now. I don't know Rick, I can't tell you what she would say or do, but I hope you two will be able to work it out." Rick thanked Claudia for her honesty and told him that he wasn't going to give up on her.

Rick was just about to sign out of his personal account, when a new email icon popped up. Hoping it was from Lisa, he clicked on the little envelope and was happy to see her return email address. Hands sweating, he opened the email and at first glance he was disappointed to see that the note was so short but excited to see what she had to say. He read the email quickly and downloaded the two high resolution photos that she had included. Rick held his breath as the images loaded on his screen and teared up a bit when he saw the images. Staring at the screen and tracing the soft outline of the baby's image, Rick felt an immense sense of sorrow and hope at the same time and said softly, "Oh Lisa, I'm so sorry... I can't tell you sorry I am for hurting you.. I promise you, if you forgive me and let me back in your life I won't ever let you regret it." After taking a few minutes to save the images and print one out for him to carry with him. Rick set about emailing Lisa back.

To: lhayes

From: flyboyRH

Sent: February 26h, 2:15pm

Subject: Thank you!

Lisa,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the photos. The baby looks amazing and I can't wait see you two again. I am in awe and I'll admit I teared up when I saw the photos. You know that I'm not good with words and am a better pilot than I am about talking about feelings. I wish that we could be having this conversation in person instead of over email but I want you to know that I've thought about you every day since we spent that rainy night together. I screwed up by going to meet Minmei that morning of the picnic and I can't tell you how much I have regretted going. I want you to know that I'm going to fight for you Lisa, to prove to you I can be your man. I may not deserve a woman as good as you but I'm not going to lose you to anyone or let you out of my life. It may be a little premature to tell you but I didn't want there to be any misunderstandings about how I feel. I hope I hear back from you soon.

Yours truly,Rick

Lisa was surprised to see a return email from Rick so quickly. The email was only a few lines but she had to admit that Rick's admission secretly thrilled her. Maybe, just maybe, all wasn't lost between them. Lisa sighed as she returned to work, she would have to wait to respond to Rick as she was going to be late for a meeting with one of the numerous subcommittees if she didn't leave now. It wasn't until almost the end of the day that she was able to email him back.

To:flyboyRH

From: lhayes

Date Sent: February 26, 4:56pm

Subject: Re: Thank You !

Rick,

I'm glad that you liked the photos too. It's starting to feel so much more real to me. I have to admit the last couple of months were like a bad dream to me. Everything just seemed so surreal to me and I actually wondered at times if this was really my life I was living. I think getting away from New Macross has helped me put perspective back into my life.

I would agree with your statement that declaring your intentions is a bit premature and suggest we just take this one day at a time. I'm going to share the photos with the Admiral, Claudia and the girls if you are ok with it and if you want to share it with Max and Miriya, I'm ok with that too. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep the pregnancy quiet for now and we can discuss what to tell others when I return.

Lisa


	22. Chapter 22

Over the next couple of weeks, Rick and Lisa exchanged emails. The email exchanges were light and breezy and neither touched on the subject of their relationship. Lisa kept Rick appraised of how her pregnancy was going, that she showed a gain of 4lbs and found a pregnancy yoga class to attend 3 times a week. Rick tried to figure out where she was based on some of the information that she provided but couldn't tell what major city she was in. She was vague about her whereabouts and never mentioned landmarks or names of the museums that she visited. The only thing that alarmed Rick was when Lisa mentioned once or twice that she had lunch with Archer. Rick fumed a bit knowing that Jack knew where she was and had access to her. He tried to get access to Archer's flight schedules to see where he had been in the past week, but his request was blocked as he had no real need for it. He wished that Lisa would write him more often but figured that she must be busy. He mentioned in one of his early emails that he had asked Minmei to leave, but Lisa made no mention of it in her return email and he wondered what she had thought of it. Claudia, Sammie, Vanessa and Kim stopped treating him like he had the plague and things on base slowly got better as Rick took on more responsibilities and regained the trust of his squad. For Rick the time seemed to pass so slowly and he couldn't believe it was only a month that Lisa had been gone. It felt like forever and he found himself staring at her photos or daydreaming about their night together and sometimes imagining how the picnic would have gone if he hadn't stood her up.

For Lisa, the remaining two weeks of her stay in Monument City were filled with meetings and last minute requests. The committees had asked that Lisa stay for an additional two months but Gloval had denied their request and informed them that Major Hayes was needed back in Macross but that she could continue to do attend the meetings via secure video chat. Louisa decided to go with Lisa when she returned to Macross to be a part of her team with Charlotte and Mariah staying behind in Monument to ensure that progression of the project went smoothly. As she packed up her small apartment and office she was surprised at how much she was going to miss Monument City and how easy it was for her to settle in there and decided that she would try and explore more of New Macross City when she returned instead of staying on base so much and that maybe it would time to invest in a small car, especially since she would have extra equipment to carry with a baby. Lisa decided she would look into that when she returned and finished up her packing.

Her last day in the office was bittersweet. Even though they had only worked with one another for two months, they all felt that they had formed a cohesive team and hoped that they could continue the good work that they have been doing. The four of them had a nice lunch together and hugged and exchanged gifts on that last day and promised to visit each other soon. The women had also been a wonderful resource for Lisa as they told her the best places to go for certain services and even introduced her to a maternity shop where she purchased a few items to tide her over until summer started. These last two months of pregnancy were so different from Lisa's first trimester. She gained back the weight that she lost and put on another 5 lbs. Lisa's skin had a healthy glow and her tummy was slightly rounded and when wearing a winter coat, it was difficult to notice her pregnancy. Lisa loved the changes in her body and the flutterings she felt by the baby when he moved. Lisa was actually excited to get back to Macross. She missed Claudia and the Trio and couldn't want to see them again. Dr. Wu had emailed her and let her know when she returned that it would be time to come in for her 20 week sonogram and that they maybe able to determine the sex of the baby if she wanted and the final reason Lisa was looking forward to getting back to Macross was because of Rick. She hadn't wanted to admit to him in her emails that she missed him too. Through their emails they had been able to reestablish a friendship of some sorts. Lisa still wasn't sure what she felt for him, but figured she would know when she saw him. She hadn't let Rick know that she was coming back and wanted to surprise him. Only Claudia and Gloval knew of her return date and it was late Friday night when Lisa came back into town. Her shuttle had been delayed due to a late winter storm and came in close to 11pm. Claudia was waiting on the runway when Lisa's plane landed and the two hugged tightly when Lisa finally got off the shuttle. She was going to spend the first night with Claudia and return home tomorrow morning to clean and restock her own home before Monday. Claudia was pleased to see how healthy and happy Lisa looked. Claudia knew that Lisa and Rick had been exchanging emails but Lisa hadn't said much more than that. She figured she would get the scoop from Lisa before the night was over.

* * *

"I have to admit you look good Lisa, that baby's doing good things for you,"said Claudia handing Lisa a hot cup of tea before settling down on the couch for a long chat with her friend. Lisa had slept on the shuttle during the flight and was too excited to talk to her friend to go to sleep.

"Thanks Claudia, I like it too, especially the changes to here." Claudia laughed as Lisa motioned to her breasts. "I'm sure Rick will like them too, hmmm, Lisa" Claudia watched her friend blush. She couldn't believe how shy Lisa was sometimes when they talked about their personal lives, especially when Lisa was so tough and demanding at work. Claudia didn't really know how inexperienced Lisa was in love matters until she had confided in Claudia what had happened with Rick after he had picked her up from her house that rainy day. She remembered Lisa being on cloud nine the day after even though she had gotten sent to Monument City on an emergency that the UEG felt needed RDF guidance on. It had taken Lisa a few days to sort things out and when she returned that is when Rick had asked Lisa on the TacNet for the picnic date. Claudia remembered pinching Lisa to answer Rick and not leaving him hanging for an answer on the TacNet. Claudia had felt bad for encouraging Lisa to tell Rick how she felt, especially after Rick stood her up. She didn't get that boy at all, so cocky and sure when he was in the cockpit of the plane yet so clueless to see the love that was being offered to him on a platter. Claudia gave Lisa a nudge and said, "C'mon so what's been going on?"

"Nothing much Claudia, I didn't even tell him I was coming back. We've exchanged a few emails that's all and I have to say it's been nice. No yelling, no arguing, just two people sharing thoughts and exchanging information and getting to know one another better."

"So what's next and what about Jack?"

"Jack?"

"Oh come on Lisa, you can't say he's not willing to step up to the plate, I saw the ring that he bought. I don't think you should discount him so easily."

"God Claudia, don't you think I know it would be so much easier if I could just fall in love with Jack? I didn't tell you this, but Jack came to see me a couple of times when I was in Monument City. At first things were normal, like when he was here in February, but he seemed to be different as my pregnancy progressed. He asked me again to reconsider marrying him and said that he'd take care of me and my child and got a little upset when I wouldn't take him seriously. He asked me why and I told him it was because I didn't love him in that way. He's always been like a brother or cousin to me and while I know he's a good looking man, I don't feel that way about him. I don't even think he's attracted to me in that way either."

"Ok, ok, calm down. I was just asking, if you're sure that's not going to happen, what's next then."

"I don't really know what's going to happen with Rick, but I do know this time I'm not going to keep quiet with him. I've always been too scared to admit my feelings for Rick, but if I've been given the opportunity to make something happen this time, I'm going to try. I know a lot of people will think I'm an idiot but I didn't really give it a chance to succeed either and maybe if we just open up a bit more to one another, we can find something lasting together. Who knows, it may not work out in the long run after all, but I at least want to try."

Claudia laughed, "That's not like you Lisa, you plan out everything."

"Well this is something I don't have any experience in, so sorry for not having a game plan." Lisa huffed. "I, uh, figured I would call him tomorrow."

Claudia couldn't believe that Lisa was so nervous about seeing Rick again and wondered what was worrying her friend. "Ok Lisa, what's wrong?"

Lisa ran her finger over the teacup and said, "I don't know, I'm just nervous, what if he sees me and realizes that he'd rather be with her."

Claudia just snorted. "That's not going to happen. I heard from Miriya that Rick won't even take her phone calls. You should have seen the articles and questions she went through when the paparazzi figured out that they broke up, especially since it was so soon after her and Kyle had split."

The two women chatted a bit more that night before heading for bed and Lisa went to bed, looking forward to seeing Rick.

* * *

Rick was running in the late afternoon when he heard his phone ring and without stopping he answered the call through his headset. "Hello?"

"Rick? It's Lisa."

Rick stopped right in the middle of the street. "Lisa? You ok? Where are you?"

"I'm at home. I got back last night."

"You're home? Don't go anywhere, I'll be there in like 10 minutes."

Rick didn't even wait for a response, he turned around and started running the other way, through the park and through the streets that led to Lisa's home. He ran up her steps and stood there huffing and puffing to catch his breath, before knocking on her door. He couldn't believe that she was home and he wondered if he should have gone back home first to change but didn't want to delay seeing her. Sniffing himself to make sure he didn't smell too much, he knocked on the door. Lisa was in the kitchen when Rick knocked on her door and she checked herself in the mirror before answering. She wore a soft long sleeve sapphire blue v-neck that showed off her changing body and paired the shirt with a pair of black leggings and soft slippers on her feet. Satisfied with what the mirror showed her, Lisa took a deep breath and opened the door. She had barely opened the door and was about to greet Rick, when he stepped in and picked her up in a big hug. Lisa felt so happy, she could feel the tears prickling her eyes. Rick felt so warm and even though he put her down, he didn't let her go, just happy to hold her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "I've missed you so much Lisa."

Feeling the draft from the door, Rick still holding her, moved her and used his foot to shut the door. The two stood in her entryway in silence, just enjoying the feel of one another, until Rick, let her go to take a good look at her. Rick started with her face that he cupped in his hands. He wiped the tears that fell from her eyes and said, "I'm always making you cry, I promise you, no more tears, ok?" Lisa nodded her head and Rick used that time to take a look at the other changes that were evident. He was thrilled to see the small rounded belly on her and asked, "Can I touch it?" Lisa, wiping tears from her face, guided his hand to her belly and allowed him to put his hand on it. He rubbed it gently, and couldn't believe how hard it felt, he always thought that it would be soft and told her so. He was disappointed he couldn't feel anything and asked if the baby was moving. "Not right now, but sometimes it feels like he's doing barrel rolls in there." Rick couldn't help but notice Lisa's other assets and wondered what her reaction would have been if he asked to touch those. Seeing a glint in his eye and knowing that Rick had been eyeing her breasts, she blushed and hit him in the arm.

"Oww, not even 5 minutes and you're already abusing me." yelped Rick, grinning. He was just so happy to be with Lisa again that he would take any type of attention from her.

Lisa started to walk into her living room and motioned Rick to follow into the kitchen where she poured him a cup of coffee. Lisa had started the coffee maker after she had talked to him on the phone. Rick took the cup from her and sipped the perfect brew. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she puttered about her kitchen putting away the rest of the groceries that she had purchased. She put a plate of biscuits on the table and sat with Rick with her own cup of tea. She was reminded of the many times her and Rick would enjoy an afternoon coffee break, many times comfortably sitting with each other in silence. It was Rick who finally broke the silence. "So Lisa, where do we go from here?"

Lisa smiled, "I don't really know Rick, I wish I could tell you that we could go back to the way we were but I don't think I can."

Rick didn't want to ask but felt he had to know. "Is it Archer?"

Lisa looked confused wondering why Rick would bring him up, "Jack? No, why do you ask? You didn't believe all those rumors on base did you?"

Squirming a bit in his seat, Rick just said, "Well I wasn't really sure. You two were spending a lot of time together and well, I know he asked you to marry him."

"What? How did you know Rick? That Claudia, I can't believe she would tell you about that."

Rick interrupted her, "It wasn't Claudia! I was there, that night, at the restaurant."

Lisa was even more confused, "You were? Were you with Minmei, because I don't remember seeing you two."

"NO! I wasn't there with Minmei, Max texted me after he saw you and Jack together at the restaurant, and well, I went down there and saw you two together. It looked like Jack proposed to you and I saw him put a ring on your finger. I...I couldn't stay after that and I left." Rick felt miserable recounting what he had seen that night, he didn't like the way he felt that night and looked down into his coffee cup that he held in his hand.

Lisa touched his hand with hers and when he finally looked up at her, she said, "I'm not engaged to Jack, yes, he did ask, but I didn't feel like I was in a position to accept."

Rick felt compelled to ask, he had to know, "Why not?"

"I don't love him like that, "said Lisa softly.

Those five words gave Rick hope that he still had a chance with her and said with resolution, "Lisa, I know we can't go back to where we were before, but I'd like to try. I don't want to just be your friend, I want more that that. I know I've done a lousy job of showing you how much I care about you, but I'd like the chance to make it up to you. Please just give me a chance."

Lisa decided to let Rick make it up to her and asked "So, how would you make it up to me?"

Rick thought quickly on his feet, "Dinner, let's start with dinner, why don't you let me take you to dinner tonight?"

Lisa gave him a thoughtful look and said, "Well..I was thinking of washing my hair tonight."

Lisa couldn't help but laugh at the disappointed look on Rick's face when she said that and quickly said, "but I think I can wait until tomorrow to do that."

Rick grinned and jumped up from the table and gave Lisa a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll pick you up on 7pm ok?"

"Seven's fine. I'll see you then." Lisa gave him another smile and Rick couldn't help but hug her again. "I'm really glad you're home."

Rick left Lisa's house with two hours to clean up and plan something for their dinner tonight. As he rushed home, he called Max and explained that he needed a restaurant recommendation. Max after consulting with Miriya suggested a new Thai restaurant that opened recently to good reviews. Rick called the restaurant to book a table for them that night and hurried to get changed and dressed. He wanted to make up it up Lisa for their failed picnic date and Rick made a few more calls before he had to pick Lisa up.

Rick showed up at Lisa's door promptly at 7pm. Lisa opened the door to his knocks and he smiled at how beautiful she looked. Lisa wore a black wrapped dress with a pair of heels and she smiled when she saw the long stem red roses that Rick presented her. "They're beautiful Rick, let me put them in some water." Lisa invited Rick in as she went to get a vase to display the flowers in. She knew that roses were expensive, and hard to come by in April. She took a sniff at the blooms and was pleased to find that the roses gave off a wonderful scent and knew that these were no ordinary roses and wondered where Rick got them. After putting them in a vase, and setting them on her living room table, Rick helped her put on her coat and escorted her outside where he had car waiting for them to take them to dinner. Lisa was impressed so far by his attention to detail and couldn't wait to see what he else he had in store for her. As the driver drove towards Macross, and as the two chatted quietly in the back, Rick picked up Lisa's hand and entwined it with his own larger hand. Lisa looked at him shyly and Rick brought her hand up and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. The driver pulled up to the restaurant and Rick jumped out to help Lisa out and escorted her in where they were promptly seated in a cozy corner in the back. "Are you hungry?"

Lisa answered honestly, "I'm starving.. I feel hungry all the time, it's so different than the first trimester. I wasn't sure if it was just the stress that I was going during that time, but I'm glad it's over." Lisa didn't notice the tense look on Rick's face when Lisa mentioned those first couple of months of her pregnancy and Rick felt bad about not being there for her during that time. Rick, hiding his face, opened the menu and asked what sounded good to her. Lisa named off a bunch of different dishes that sounded good, and they settled on an order of Tom Yum soup, spring rolls, an order of spicy chicken pad thai and beef short ribs in a green curry. Over dinner Lisa told Rick more about her time in Monument City. Rick was impressed that Lisa didn't just talk about herself and told him about the three women that she worked with that became her friends. She mentioned some exhibits that she thought he would have liked to see and made a comment that she wanted to explore Macross a bit more and that maybe they could find some things to do together. Rick made a note to research some places to take Lisa in New Macross and when the food arrived, Rick had been updating Lisa on what had been happening on the base. The two had such a good time they didn't notice how fast the time went by. Rick kept trying to feed Lisa more and she had to stop him saying that it was better for her to eat more small meals than a large meal. They had declined dessert and the restaurant packed up the leftovers for them to take with them. As they left the restaurant, Lisa looked for the town car, but Rick suggested that they walk a little bit. Rick directed Lisa to a little park a couple blocks away from the restaurant and they settled on a bench near the large fountain. The fountain wasn't on at this time of the night and the night was still chilly where they could see their breath. Rick asked Lisa if she was warm enough and she nodded her head but still snuggled closer to Rick. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I know that I can't make up for what I put you through, but I hope you know I am going to do everything I can to make it up to you. I didn't realize how much you meant to me until that day I thought I lost you. When I saw the SDF-2 take that hit, I was so scared, wondering if I would ever see you again. I can't tell you how desperate I felt when the SDF-1 took that final hit and that you were on it. I realized then what I had been denying, that I love you."

Lisa, her green eyes shining, never thought that she would hear those words from Rick. She turned her face up to his and could see the sincerity and love in his eyes. Rick pulled her up towards him a bit more and took her hands in his and whispered, "I love you" before bending his head down to kiss her. The kiss was sweet and not demanding, barely caressing her lips with his and Lisa sighed a soft sigh as Rick pulled back. Just then the fountain came to life and the lights came on and water sputtered and sprayed the water up in the air to gracefully fall back into the fountain. The couple continued to cuddle on the bench watching the fountain under the starry night.

Rick not wanting to disturb Lisa as she sat cuddled next to him, whispered a "Wait right here" to her and Lisa watched as Rick got up and walked over to a clump of bushes and pulled out a small basket. Smiling he brought the basket over to the bench where they had been sitting and settled himself with Lisa on one side and the basket on the other.

Lisa asked curiously, "What's in the basket?"

Rick opened the small wooden basket and pulled out a thermos and a box of gourmet cookies. "Dessert." He poured Lisa a cup of tea into a paper cup that was in the basket, the tea still warm from the thermos and gave it to Lisa. As she sipped the tea, Rick said, "This is what our first date should have been like Lisa."

Lisa leaned forward and gave Rick a quick kiss on the lips, "You did a good job, thank you, I had a really good time." The two sat for a while longer before Rick said, "C'mon it's getting late and I don't want you to get sick, let me take you home."

As they exited the park, the town car was waiting for them and Rick helped Lisa into the car and took her home. When they reached her home, he dismissed the car and walked Lisa to the door. "I hope you weren't thinking of staying here tonight Rick, the date was good but not that good."

Rick chuckled, "No, I was planning on walking home, I think I'm going to need it after the good night kiss you're going to give me."

"Getting a bit cocky there, hmmm?" asked Lisa.

Rick didn't say anything, he just pulled Lisa into his arms, wrapped his arms around her and gave her the best goodnight kiss she ever experienced. She was a bit shocked that she could respond so easily to him but decided not to think too much into it and just let herself enjoy the moment. The two continued to kiss outside Lisa's home until Rick pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. "I better go, unless you want to invite me in."

Lisa laughed and said, "As interesting as that sounds, I think we should stop here. Good night Rick and thank you for tonight."

Rick hugged her one last time and ran a hand over her belly and said, "Take care little one, daddy will come see you soon."

With a final kiss to Lisa, Rick made sure she was safely in her house before heading home himself. Tonight had been a success and Rick felt happier than he had in a long time.


	23. Chapter 23

Lisa's first week back in New Macross was quite busy for her. Lisa introduced Louisa to Claudia, Sammie, Kim and Vanessa their first day on base and the Trio had been quite excited to add a fourth member to their group. Lisa and Claudia smiled at each other while they watched the four woman talk about the best places in town to eat, dance and meet men and the Trio were eager to introduce Louisa to all the fun places. It was Wednesday afternoon when the women were sitting in Lisa's new office. Claudia and the girls came to visit as Lisa was no longer on the bridge due to her new project. It was Sammie who brought up the gossip going around about Lisa's pregnancy and advised Lisa that she was going to have to say something soon about it. Lisa knew that there would be some interest and speculation in her pregnancy but she didn't realize how much. Every time she turned the corner she could feel people stopping their conversations and looking at her. She tried to ignore it and continue with her work but decided that it was better if she knew what was being said.

"Well," said Sammie, "A lot of people have asked us if you've gained weight, some have noticed that you seem to have a tummy but the big question everyone is asking is, "who's the father?" Lisa didn't want to know but felt she had to ask, "What are they saying?"

Sammie continued, "Most people are saying it's Captain Archer's, but they don't remember you being that close with him before a couple of months ago. Some think you've agreed to participate in some secret Zentraedi breeding program and everyone else is just waiting to see what happens."

"Hunter's not going to like this," said Claudia taking a sip of coffee.

Everyone looked at Lisa to see her reaction. Only Claudia knew that she had dinner with Rick upon her return and thankfully they hadn't run into anyone they knew that night. Max and Miriya and a couple of the squad members had helped out with the after dinner surprise but never saw her that night and Lisa hadn't seen Rick since that night despite his tries to do so the next day.

Louisa listened to the conversation with interest, she had heard of Captain Hunter and his bravery and excellent piloting skills but didn't know what he had to do with Major Hayes. She hadn't met him yet but had heard from others about the tense relationship that Major Hayes had with him the last year and the drama between the two. Louisa wondered if she finally figured out who the father of Lisa's baby was but decided not to ask.

Lisa acknowledged Claudia's comment and just said that, "she would take care of it" and thanked Sammie for letting her know what was going on. Rick had asked her when it would be okay to let people know about her pregnancy and groaned, wondering what the speculation was in the pilot's locker room. She was sure it probably wasn't as innocuous as the gossip in the office. Lisa was right.

The Skull Squadron had returned from a long patrol that day and the Skull pilots as well as a few other squads was changing in the locker room, when the comments Lisa was worried about reached Rick's ear. At first he thought it was just one of the guys boasting about his latest conquest but then he heard Lisa's name. "Damn, did you see Major Hayes got herself knocked up, that Archer didn't waste anytime." There was agreement by another pilot and a "hushing" by another saying, "dude, shut it, Captain Hunter's still in here."

Rick held himself from going over and knocking the guys in the head but wanted to hear what else was being said.

"She's looks good though huh, she was always a bit too skinny for me, but even with the belly, she's filled out real nice." said a unknown voice. Rick couldn't tell who it was but recognized the deep voice of the next comment. "Yeah, did you see her tits. I wouldn't mind... " At that point Rick couldn't stand it anymore and stepped around the locker to the other aisle. One the the sergeants who noticed Rick glaring at them, hit the other two guys on the arm to let them know that Rick was standing there. Rick walked over to them and said in a quiet but deadly voice. "I don't want there to be any discussion about the assets of Major Hayes or her pregnancy. If I hear any from you or any other of the pilots, I will hold you three accountable and I will tell you, you will not be happy with the consequences" Rick stalked back to his locker and finished changing and slammed his locker shut and left to return to his office in the hangar. Rick paced back and forth in his office, fuming over the situation, unsure of what he should do. He hadn't gotten a chance to see Lisa since Saturday night even thought they talked daily, this wasn't something he wanted to to talk to her over the phone about. Checking his watch and figuring that now was as good as anytime as any, Rick left his office and hurried over to the RDF administration buildings where Lisa's new office was. Louisa looked up from her desk as a tall, good looking man with dark hair and blue eyes and a huge scowl on his face enter the office. She thought he would be pretty hot if he didn't look like he wanted to kill someone. She knew Lisa didn't have any other appointments today and wondered what this guy's problem was. She quickly stood up and saluted the captain and said, "Is there something I can help you with today sir?"

Rick angry and not really in the mood to deal with anyone, said to her sharply, "Sergeant, is Major Hayes in, please tell her Captain Hunter is here to see her." Louisa was surprised to see this brooding young man present himself as Captain Hunter. She wondered if he was always this cranky and thought to herself, no wonder why Lisa wanted to get away from him. Giving him a false cheerful smile, she said, "Let me check to see if she's free."

Lisa picked up her extension at the sound of the beep. "Yes Louisa, what is it?" she asked.

Louisa whispered into the phone, "There's a Captain Hunter here to see you, he doesn't seem too happy, do you want me to send him away?"

Rick who had taken a step away from Louisa's desk to look around, turned back when he saw Louisa whispering into the phone, Rick stepped up to the desk and said in a loud clear voice that could be heard clearly on the phone "if she's in, I'd like to see her."

Lisa, who could hear the anger in Rick's voice, told Louisa that she would see him and to just give her a minute. As Louisa conveyed to the Captain that Major Hayes would be right with him, he thanked her and continued to pace in the small office space until Lisa opened her door and stepped out. Louisa watched as Captain Hunter, greeted Major Hayes perfunctorily and pushed his way into her office. Louisa, a bit worried, wondered if she should call Commander Grant, but decided to wait and see if anything happened before calling

Lisa watched as Rick strode into her office and as she shut the door behind her, she turned and ran right into him. Rick felt his anger dissipate as he pulled her into his arms. Turning his face into her neck, he said softly to her"I don't like it, I don't like not being able to tell people that the baby is mine, I don't like that they think that it's Archer's I want everyone to know that you are with me Lisa."

Lisa had a feeling that Rick would come to see her after what Sammie had told her earlier that afternoon, put her arms around Rick and rubbed him on the back. She felt him squeeze her tighter and Lisa just nodded her head. Rick let Lisa loose but said, "I know I agreed that I'd wait until you're ready to tell people, but I can't stand to hear the gossip about it. It's killing me and if I have to hear one more comment from anybody on it, I'm going to lose it."

Lisa rested her head on Rick's chest. "Shhh, ok, I'm sorry Rick, I honestly didn't think it would be like that. I was going to call you anyway to see if you were free tomorrow early afternoon." Lisa looked up into Rick's eyes and smiled, "I wanted to see if you would go with me to my next appointment with Dr. Wu. She's going to do a sonogram and we maybe able to find out the baby's gender. I wanted you there with me." Rick couldn't help but smile and leaned down and kissed Lisa. "Really? You want me to go with you?"

Lisa laughed and nodded her head, "Yes, I want you there."

Rick feeling happy all of a sudden just continued to hold Lisa to him and rock her. "Ok, I'll make it happen just tell me what time."

They made arrangements to meet at the hospital the next day at 1pm. Rick wanted to stay with Lisa till she left for the day but she had meetings until 8pm and said that she would have a driver take her back to her house afterward. Rick reluctantly left the office to let Lisa finish her work but in a much better mood than when he came in. Louisa had taken a quick bathroom break and missed Rick when he left but checked on Lisa immediately when she returned.

Knocking on the door to get Lisa's attention, Louisa asked, "Is everything ok with Captain Hunter? He seemed a bit, uh, tense when he came in."

Lisa smiled reassuringly, "He'll be fine, we just had a few things to clear up."

Louisa not wanting to push, said, haltingly, "If I can ask? Is he the one?"

Lisa ran a hand over her growing belly, "Yes, Rick's the father. He was just upset about the gossip on base but I think we've worked it out."

"Ok, I'm glad to hear that, he's very good looking Lisa..I hope he's not always that moody though."

Lisa thought back for a moment before she answered, "We've had a bit of a rocky start but I think that Captain Hunter will be a lot happier now."

* * *

The sun warmed the normally chilly April day. The new leaves were coming in on the many trees on the base and the air had a clean scent to it. Lisa waited patiently near the base hospital for Rick and smiled when she saw him coming from the path from the Prometheus. Not caring who was watching, Rick gave Lisa a big hug in greeting and smiled when Lisa took his hand and asked, "Are you ready to go?" He squeezed her hand and let her lead him into the hospital. Lisa walked him to the obstetrics department and greeted the receptionist. "Lisa Hayes, with an appointment with Dr. Wu." The receptionist nurse looked at her and then at Rick and then smiled a huge smile. "Sure thing Major Hayes, and welcome back. If you can we need you to provide a sample. You can put it in the box in the bathroom." Lisa took the little cup that she was handed and suggested to Rick that he sit and wait until her return. Rick took a seat on the leather couches in the waiting room, while Lisa went through another door to "provide a sample" There were a lot of women in the waiting room and Rick tried to avoid making eye contact with any of them. There were no other men in the waiting room at that time and he was thankful when Lisa came back. Taking her hand again as she sat down to wait for Dr. Wu, Rick and Lisa whispered quietly until Lisa was called in by the nurse. Feeling strange following her in, he watched as Lisa was weighed and her blood pressure taken before taken to the exam room. Lisa changed behind a screen into a hospital gown, using a second gown as a robe and sat down on the exam table when there was a knock on the door and Dr. Wu entered the room. "Welcome back Major Hayes, we're all so happy to see you here again." She gave Rick a look and said, "I see you brought Captain Hunter with you. Why don't we see how things are going with the baby and then maybe we can move onto the ultrasound."

Rick watched in fascination as Dr. Wu examined Lisa and asked a few questions about what she was doing. Dr. Wu was patient with Rick and quickly finished the exam. "Well everything is looking good, but why don't we do an ultrasound and see for ourselves."

Rick and Lisa smiled and Rick scooted his chair to sit next to Lisa . As Dr. Wu turned off the lights, Rick took Lisa's hand and they both turned their heads to look at the screen ahead of them. Using the ultrasound wand, Dr. Wu ran the wand over Lisa's belly and taking measurements of the baby's progress. Lisa and Rick just watched in awe and held each others' hand tighter. Dr. Wu watched the young couple and smiled. It was clear those two had something special and not just the baby in Lisa's womb. Knowing that Lisa was interested in the sex of the baby, Dr. Wu asked, "So do want to know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Lisa looked over at Rick, who nodded his head excitedly and Lisa squeezing his hand answered for them, "Yes, we'd like to know." Dr. Wu running the want over Lisa's womb again explained what she was seeing and said, "It looks like it's going to be a boy!"

Rick, hearing the news had tears in his eyes and he whispered to Lisa, "A boy Lisa, it's going to be a boy!" Lisa laughing and wiping away tears as well said, "and what if it was going to be a little girl?" Rick kissed her on the cheek and said, "it wouldn't have mattered, as long as the baby came out healthy and you're the mom, it's alright by me."

Dr. Wu smiled at their joy, cleaned Lisa up and printed out two copies of the ultrasound photos and figured that this would end the gossip about the father of Lisa's baby. Leaving them alone for a few minutes before they left the exam room. Rick held Lisa in his arms and thanked her for carrying their child. He kissed her long and hard and Lisa hugged him tightly before they left the room, to head back to their offices and show the latest photos to their friends.

Rick entering the hangar where his squad was located and couldn't help but yell loudly, "We're having a BOY!" Everyone's attention was caught by Rick's shout and the pilots and maintenance men looked at him like he was crazy. Only Max and Miriya ran up to Rick to congratulate him and to see the latest photos. Seeing their 2nd and 3rd in command talking and laughing with Rick, the rest of the squad approached the three where Rick was smiling and talking nonstop. Passing along the photos that Rick was sharing, the squad quickly realized why Rick had been acting the way he had been the last couple of months and were quick to congratulate him. They couldn't wait to tell their friends about the latest news and while this solved one big mystery for them, the other big mystery to them was when could this have happened. They knew that Rick and Minmei had only broken up a few months ago and wondered if this was the reason why. Some people felt bad for Rick and Minmei, thinking that they really had a chance together if Lisa hadn't gotten pregnant, while others realized the truth, that Rick and Lisa were truly in love and that all the fighting that they two did over the last years was just a cover for how they really felt for one another. Max and Miriya were glad to see the paternity issue cleared up and listened to everything Rick had to tell them and anyone else that would stay to listen about Lisa and the baby. In any case, Rick's good mood was infectious and atmosphere in the hangar that day was very positive.

Lisa, after the appointment, walked over to the newly constructed bridge and after saluting Gloval presented him with the latest sonogram, saying, "It's going to be a boy, sir." Gloval stood up and gave Lisa a big hug and called the other bridge officers to see Lisa's newest sonogram photos. Lisa casually mentioned that Rick went with her to the appointment which wasn't a surprise to the Trio but to others on the bridge who had been wondering along with the rest of the base who the father was, this was big news and coming straight from Major Hayes. Lisa had barely made the comment when she saw a few phones being pulled out and a few furtive messages being typed out spreading the news. Lisa was so happy, she didn't care about the gossip and left the bridge after her visit in a good mood.

It didn't take long for the news to spread on the base that Captain Hunter and Major Hayes were going to have a baby boy in a few months.


	24. Chapter 24

After that day it seemed that Rick and Lisa were inseparable. The two seemed to fall back into their old patterns of having lunch and or break together at the officer's mess hall and Rick was seen walking Lisa home many nights. Rick hated having to leave Lisa's home every night and wished that he could ask her if he could stay there. He knew it was too early in their relationship and felt that he had a lot to make up to her. Rick knew he couldn't expect that things between them to magically resolve themselves.

Rick courted Lisa in an old fashioned method, asking her out on dates and taking her out on the weekends or to dinner when they had free time. After that first date Lisa thought that Rick would be pushing for more than a chaste goodnight kiss at the end of their dates. He had acted pretty cocky their first date but after that he didn't seem to push for any increased intimacy in their relationship and Lisa wondered if her growing belly was the cause of it. She confided in Claudia how she felt and Claudia felt a sense of deja vu all over again. "Lisa," she scolded, "a lot of problems you two have had was around a lack of communication. Rick's not a mind reader honey, and he's not going to know what you want unless you tell him. If this is something that's bothering him, ask him about it. Can't you tell he loves you and is trying to make it up to you. You need to throw him a bone too and let him know that you feel the same way." Lisa thanked Claudia for the advice and decided to talk to Rick about it after dinner on Friday night. She didn't know how to bring it up with him but knew that Claudia was right.

Rick did have hopes that their relationship would move forward before the baby came and without telling Lisa had himself checked over by a doctor to make sure he was clean after the time he had spent with Minmei, even though with her he had used protection. He even braved talking to Dr. Wu about sex and lovemaking and if there was anything he should be concerned about during this stage of Lisa's pregnancy. Dr. Wu had assured him that lovemaking was fine during her pregnancy and informed him that many woman showed increased desire during the second trimester which gave Rick hope that he didn't have to wait too long.

* * *

Rick and Lisa walked slowly through the park near downtown Macross City after dinner. They had gone to a small Pho restaurant that they both enjoyed and Rick appreciated the fact that Lisa didn't expect to be taken to fancy places for their dates and that she was just as comfortable at a hole in the wall restaurant as she was at a five star restaurant. She also wouldn't let him pay for all the meals and reciprocated by making meals for the two of them or baking treats that Rick could share with his squad. Rick couldn't have been happier about how things turned out and wondered why it had taken so long to realize how more complete he felt and how much richer his life had become with Lisa.

Finding themselves sitting on the bench in the park they shared their first date together, Lisa cuddled into Rick and turned her face up to his for a kiss. Smiling and seeing the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, he leaned down and kissed her and didn't object when Lisa deepened the kiss. Their kisses became increasingly passionate and it wasn't until they heard footsteps coming closer that they came to their senses and pulled apart. Still breathing heavy, Lisa heard herself suggesting to Rick that, "they continue in a more private setting" and it wasn't long before they were speeding back to base in a taxi. They didn't say much on the way home and Rick just held Lisa's hand, rubbing the top of her hand with his index finger. As usual, Rick got out of the taxi with Lisa at her home and walked her to the door. Rick was reluctant to leave, but Lisa made no repeat of the comment she made earlier at the park and Rick resigned himself to saying good night to her. Lisa unlocked her door and turned to Rick, she wondered if he had changed his mind as he pulled her in for a hug and leaned down to kiss her good night. As the kiss ended and they separated, Lisa and Rick both felt a sense of loss and in a rush, they both said what the other one wanted to hear.

"I don't want you to go, "Lisa said in a breathless rushed voice. "I don't want to leave," pleaded Rick in a low tone. The two smiled at each other as they realized what the other said and Lisa wrapped her arms around Rick's neck and whispered in his ear seductively, "Do you want to come in?"

* * *

Rick slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling above him. It could have been any other day for him as the ceiling above him looked just like the one he woke up to everyday, but then he smiled. The way that the light came in from the window and the warmth of the bed was what assured Rick that he wasn't dreaming. He turned over on his right side to see Lisa laying on her side facing him, asleep. He couldn't help but watch her sleep, her even breathing, the way her eyelashes lay against her pale skin, her long honey brown hair pulled forward over her shoulder. Rick reached out to touch and stroke Lisa's long hair, and then slowly started to caress her face. This is how it should have been those many months ago and Rick wondered what it would have been like if Lisa hadn't left him that morning with just a note. He didn't blame her for leaving, it wasn't her fault, but he couldn't help but wonder what could have been if she had stayed that morning. He watched as Lisa slowly opened her eyes to see him staring at her and she smiled shyly and said in a low whisper, "Good morning." Rick returned her greeting and continued to stroke her hair and face. Lisa smiled and put her hand on Rick's face, running her hand on his cheek, it was rough under her hand, his face a bit stubbly. His hair was messy and wild looking but Lisa loved it. The two were happy to stay cocooned in the warm bed, just being with one another. "Is everything ok?" he whispered to her. Lisa blushed and nodded her head, remembering the night before.

It could have been awkward for them given Lisa's advancing pregnancy but the two seemed to be in synch last night and had no problems adjusting their lovemaking to her body's changes. Rick had to hold himself back at first, not wanting to put any pressure on Lisa's belly but that changed when Lisa took a more dominant position and straddled him which Rick had no complaints. The white button down shirt that Lisa had left on framed her new assets nicely. Rick had always thought Lisa had a sexy body and was further aroused by her larger breasts and having them right there at eye level. He had teasingly asked her if their size would be permanent but she could tell he was kidding and enjoyed the way he used his mouth and hands on her. Her moans of pleasure encouraged Rick to continue exploring her body. His hands cupped her ass and he ran his hands up and down her back, to her butt and over her legs. Rick didn't notice much change there as all the weight she gained seemed to be in her belly and he continued to rub his hands up and down her body while kissing her and lightly biting her. Lisa becoming increasing aroused started to grind herself against Rick and he was pleased to feel how aroused she had become. Reaching between their two bodies, he rubbed her and pressed his fingers against her sensitive spot. Lisa feeling close to reaching her end, wanted it to be with Rick, and pulled his hand away. Taking a deep breath and regaining control, Lisa rubbed herself against Rick's hardness and lifted herself slightly until she felt his tip at her warm entrance and she slowly worked him into her, inching her self down until they were fully joined. At that point Rick could not longer hold back as they both tried to convey to the other their need and deep feelings of love for one another. He tried to calm himself down and be more gentle with her, but Lisa enjoyed his attentions and encouraged him to let go and enjoy their lovemaking.

* * *

Rick, who also was remembering the night before, grinned at Lisa lying in bed with him, pulled up the top sheet and took a quick glance at her body and then whispered to Lisa, "They look just as good this morning as they did last night" Lisa, happy and feeling playful after the night before, "They wouldn't mind a little attention now." Rick quickly getting the hint, was happy to comply and the two spent an enjoyable morning together.


	25. Chapter 25

Over the next weeks, things between Rick and Lisa continued to progress forward and soon Rick found that he barely ever went home to his own place and wondered when it would be appropriate to bring up moving in with her. Lisa was getting bigger, she was close to her seventh month now and was getting pressure from her friends to go and register for her baby shower. Rick had just come back from his Saturday morning run and had just finished cleaning up and went into the kitchen where Lisa was eating some oatmeal with blueberries and if he wasn't mistaken some dark chocolate squares swirled in. Rick just shook his head, there had been a couple of times over the last weeks where he had woken up alone in bed, to find Lisa rummaging through the fridge looking for a little snack. Lisa ate extremely healthy as she could so Rick couldn't get mad when he found her eating vanilla ice cream with salt and vinegar potato chips. What was worse was when she craved fruits that either weren't in season or difficult to get especially those from tropical climates. Rick had done the best he could to acquire what he could but the fruits he could find were either over ripe or picked too early in hopes that they would ripen in transit. Lisa not wanting him to spend time searching for fruit for her, stopped mentioning any of those cravings and did with the fruits that were readily available.

Kissing her on the cheek in greeting, he asked, "What's the plans for today?"

"If you didn't mind Rick, I'd like to go to the mall. I need to get some more clothes now that it's getting warmer and I'd like to take a look at the new baby store that opened.. If you don't want to go with me, I'd understand and was thinking I'd ask Claudia or Miriya to go if you didn't want to." Lisa knew that going to the mall wasn't going to be favorable with Rick but was surprised when he readily agreed to go with her.

Kissing her again, but this time on the mouth, he said, "I want to go with you to pick out things for him Lisa. It'll be fun, Max said that test driving strollers is one of the best part." They both laughed and make plans and Rick cleaned the kitchen while waiting for Lisa to change and get dressed in order to leave. With a final wipe of the kitchen counter, Rick rinsed out the sponge and put it into the sterilizing container that used UV lights to kill bacteria and dry out the sponge for the next use. The doorbell rang at that point and Rick yelled out, "I'll get it" and quickly went to the front door and opened it.

A man dressed in a blue delivery outfit, held out a big box to Rick and said, "Delivery for Ms. Hayes."

Rick signed for the package and brought the box into the living room and waited for Lisa to come out to open it. Lisa came out dressed in maternity jeans with rolled cuffs, flats, a blue and white striped boatneck maternity shirt and a blue blazer. "Who was it Rick?" she asked.

Pointing to the box, Rick said, "That just arrived for you."

"Oh, I wasn't expecting anything, I wonder what it is?" Lisa opened and the box and they both peered inside to find another white Styrofoam container inside. On top was a note that said, "Eat Me" and Lisa pulled the box top off and found a box full of exotic and tropical fruits. Rick watched as Lisa pulled the items out and cried out, "Look Rick, there's a pineapple in here." Rick felt a bit uneasy, on one hand he was glad that Lisa was excited and happy about her present. On the other hand, Rick only knew of one person that could have provided these items for her. Putting on a false smile for her, Rick said, "You're right, they look great, do you know where they came from? Are you sure they are safe to eat. There was no note."

Lisa just smiled at him and said, "yes, there was a note – see," pointing to the "Eat Me" note. Seeing that Rick didn't get it, she explained. "It's safe Rick, it's from Jack. One, this is his writing on the note and two the courier service that made the delivery is owned by Jack as well. I'll have to thank him, I didn't think he would go this far when I mentioned my crazy fruit cravings to him." Rick became curious, "When did you talk to him? I haven't heard you on the phone with him." Lisa still in the dark about all that happened between Rick and Jack just said, "Oh we mostly keep in touch via email, anyway, can you help me take this box to the kitchen, I want to put the fruit away." Rick fuming a bit, but didn't want to get into with Lisa, took the box to the kitchen while Lisa put the fruit away. She cut up a few of the peaches and packed them in a small container to take them them and said, "Ok, you ready to go?" Rick decided to let it go for now and talk about Jack with Lisa later. It was a subject that they never brought up as was Minmei and Rick realized now that they were going to have to face those topics sooner than later.

Rick and Lisa hit the mall and they spent the first couple of hours trying and buying clothes. Lisa didn't buy too much, just a few pairs of shorts and short sleeve tee-shirts for the summer months and a summer dress or two. She didn't have that much longer to go in the pregnancy and felt she could survive the summer with what she bought. Rick had offered to help pay for some of her items and Lisa looked at him a bit strangely and with a questioning look. He just whispered to her, "well you wouldn't need all this, if you weren't pregnant. At least I can do is help share the cost."

Lisa, hugged him and kissed him for the thought and whispered back to him, "no don't worry about it, this isn't where the expense is."

Rick and Lisa were so engrossed with one another that they missed seeing someone observing them from outside the store. Dressed in a denim skirt, low boots, a white shirt and a cowboy hat and sunglasses, Minmei had noticed them earlier when she had been window shopping. She couldn't help but follow them and see their interaction herself. Minmei couldn't help but notice how caring and loving Rick was towards Lisa, holding hands with her pointing out things to her to make her laugh. She wondered why Rick never treated her that way and wondered what the time that they did spend together meant to him. Minmei stayed a safe distance and followed them to the baby store but stopped from entering. She decided to take a seat near the fountain where she could still see the entrance to the baby store and wait for them to exit.

It wasn't until they reached the baby store that Rick realized what Lisa meant about the maternity clothes not being the expensive part. Just looking at the sheer number of items offered for babies, Rick felt overwhelmed by everything and didn't know where to start. Luckily, Lisa seemed to have a better idea of what to do and Rick followed her to the registry department where she setup an account under her and Rick's name. They were handed a scanner with directions on how to use it and using a list provided by the store walked thought the aisles looking at all the products that were sold. Rick unsure of himself at first, watched as Lisa went through the aisles picking up and scanning certain items and putting a few items into the shopping cart that she wanted to purchase herself. He watched how carefully she examined each of the item and the quality of the item, she also would point out to Rick why one blanket was better than another by the feel of the material, weight and care instructions and asking his opinion on certain items. He noticed that she leaned towards more organic cotton materials for the baby and bought a few newborn outfits that she would wash and pack to take to the hospital. Becoming more interested in picking out items for his son, Rick and Lisa were in the bottle aisle looking at the various different bottle systems. She ended up registering for a set of glass bottles and a bottle warmer but mentioned to Rick that she planned to breastfeed as long as she can, but thought that they may need some bottles just in case. Rick was pushing the cart for Lisa as they passed by the nursery furniture section which Lisa seemed to pass by. He wondered what her plans were for the nursery and asked Lisa if they should look at the cribs and dressers that were available. Lisa, distracted looking for a particular aisle that carried bathing tubs, answered him without thinking, "Oh I was planning to see if any of the furniture from home would be useable." Not sure of what Lisa meant, Rick asked for clarification, when Lisa came to think about what she was saying, she stopped walking and said to Rick, "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot, I can't believe that...before I left Monument City, I had asked Jack to take me back home and help me move some items that I wanted for the baby. We had planned to go in June, but with everything that has been going on, I totally forgot to mention it to you. I haven't made any solid plans with him but I am sure he will understand if you want to come too."

Annoyed and frustrated, Rick couldn't help but hold in his anger when he had heard that Lisa had planned to go on a trip with Jack even if it was to pick up some furniture from her family home. Whispering in an angry voice to her, "When were you going to tell me this Lisa, I think I had a right to know." Lisa, understanding a bit how he felt, tried to apologize, "I'm so sorry Rick, honestly I forgot about it or I would have mentioned it to you earlier." Not satisfied with her answer, Rick said to her hotly, "Well, tell him that you don't need him to go with you anymore, I'll take you myself." Lisa not fully understanding why Rick was so mad said, "I've told you before, Jack and I are just friends, Rick, I already explained why he proposed to me and I did say no" Rick not wanting to be reminded of that incident insisted that Jack not escort her on her trip. Lisa, not willing to fight more with Rick about Jack just said, "Fine, I'll let him know and I'll let you know the dates I was thinking so you can ask for those days off." The mood of the day, was soured by their argument and Rick still frustrated and annoyed even thought she changed her plans for him said, "We need to talk about this, but not here. I'm going to go out and take a quick walk around ok? I just need to calm down a bit."

Seeing that Rick was obviously still bothered by their argument, Lisa agreed to his suggestion and they made plans to meet back in 20 minutes. Rick stalked out the store, angry that Jack still had influence in Lisa's life, he just wanted to punch something and thought it was much better for him to get out of there before he said something that he would regret to Lisa. Minmei, noticing Rick exiting the store without Lisa perked up to see him alone and thought about following him and talking to him but noticed that he didn't seem too happy and decided to wait and see where Lisa was.

Lisa spent a few more minutes looking at baby items but didn't feel comfortable finishing without Rick, she purchased the few items in she had in the cart and went outside the store to wait for Rick. Minmei watched as Lisa came out of the store and looked around as if looking for someone. Minmei realized that Lisa must be waiting for Rick and feeling emboldened decided to approach Lisa. Lisa had just put her bags on the bench and was about to pull out her cell phone to call Rick when she heard a voice call out her name. "Lisa, is that you?" Lisa turned to the voice and groaned when she saw a smiling, cheerful Minmei approaching her. As Minmei stopped in front of her Lisa gave a polite, "Hello Minmei." That is when Minmei started her act of interest. "Oooo, you've gotten so big already, how many months are you now?" Minmei asked feigning interest. "Can I touch it?" Minmei, not allowing Lisa to answer, quickly stuck out her hand and placed her hand on Lisa's belly. Lisa didn't have a chance to step back to avoid the initial touch but stepped back away from Minmei and pushed her hands away saying, "You should wait for a response before you touch someone, Minmei" Minmei just looked blankly at Lisa and then said with a laugh "Oh don't be like that, if I hadn't barged into that dinner that night, who knows, maybe I would have been taking care of the little one during Rick's visitations. If I hadn't over reacted and waited until Rick got home that night to talk it over, things might have been different." Noticing that Lisa wasn't wearing an engagement ring, Minmei went in for the kill, "We talked about getting married you know, until you dropped this bombshell on him. We were so happy together. I see Rick hasn't asked you yet, hmmmm?" Lisa not believing the audacity that Minmei had in approaching her, said civilly, "Excuse me Minmei, I must be going, please don't ever approach me again." With that Lisa picked up her bags and pushed past Minmei and walked away in a hurry. Minmei just smirked, happy to cause the Miss Perfect Hayes a bit of discomfort.

Lisa walked away angry and wiped away a few tears. She knew she shouldn't let Minmei get to her but after the argument with Rick about Jack and then having Minmei imply that Rick didn't love her nearly enough to want to marry her, Lisa wasn't in a very good mood. Minmei would always be a sore subject between her and Rick and Lisa hoped over time she would be able to deal with it. New Macross wasn't that big and they were sure to run into her again. As for marriage, well, Lisa wasn't quite sure about that either. Lisa was more pragmatic than romantic and while it would be wonderful if Rick asked her to marry him, she didn't know if they were ready. They had only been dating for a few months even though they had known each other for a few years and Lisa felt the pregnancy definitely accelerated their relationship and wondered if they would have gotten together if she hadn't gotten pregnant. Even though Rick had told her that he loved her and showed it in the oh so many little things he did and his care for her, Lisa still had a kernel of doubt. Lisa sighed to herself. She still wasn't sure about what happened between Minmei and Rick and wondered if the way she felt about Minmei was the way Rick felt about Jack and thought that maybe it was time for them to clear the air. Lisa decided to return to the front of the baby store to see if Rick had returned yet. After checking to make sure Minmei was no longer in sight, Lisa settled down on the bench to wait for Rick.

Rick had spent the last half hour walking around the mall trying to get over his anger. He wondered if Lisa was unaware of the taunts flung by Jack during the trainings and why Rick was so angry at him and at her. Rick couldn't believe that Lisa was insensitive to his feelings and came to the conclusion that Lisa really didn't know what had happened during the training sessions and that maybe she would understand his feelings if she knew what Jack had said. Rick hurried back to the baby store and stopped when he saw Lisa sitting on the bench outside the store. She looked sad and pensive and he silently swore at himself for making her cry again. Lisa watched as Rick headed towards her and a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill out. She quickly wiped her eyes before Rick could notice, but in a flash, Rick was by her side sitting next to her and pulling her into an embrace. Feeling his arms around her and his warmth, Lisa let out a small sob and clung to Rick's arms and buried her head against his chest letting the tears absorb into his shirt. Rick tried to apologize for running off and making her cry but it was Lisa that said in a shaky voice, "No Rick, it's me who should be apologizing to you, I should have paid more attention to your concerns when Jack's name came up. Rick, do you mind if we go home? I think that there are some things we should talk about and I don't feel like shopping anymore."

Rick knew right there that was one of the many reasons he loved Lisa. She was truly concerned about him and his reactions and instead of pushing it under a rug or ignoring it, wanted to address it with him and deal with it. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and agreed.

"Sure, Lisa I think that there are some things that you should know too. Let's go home." With that, Rick grabbed the bags that Lisa had set next to the bench in one hand and and wrapped his other arm protectively around her shoulders and gave her a kiss on the head.

That afternoon the two sat down and had a heart to heart with one another about Jack and Minmei. Lisa had been horrified to hear that Jack had threatened Rick's paternity and assured him that she would never have allowed that to happen and that she would talk to Jack about it and get him to apologize to Rick. Lisa told Rick more about her past with Jack and his promise to Riber to take care of Lisa which caused a grimace on Rick's face "Ugh, did he have to take it so literal? I guess I am going to have to make sure he understands that you have me now to take care of you." Lisa's heart gave a little thump when Rick said that, they hadn't really talked about the future that much and she was glad to hear that Rick was thinking long term and not just the next couple of months. Rick also opened up to Lisa more about the time Minmei spent living at his house and while he wanted to downplay it, he knew that it wouldn't be fair to hide any of the details from her. Lisa didn't say much during Rick's recounting of the time that they spent apart and his time with Minmei but still couldn't help having some of those old jealous feelings come back. While she listened, Lisa wondered if there was any truth to Minmei's claim that they were going to get married but didn't want to ask nor did she tell Rick about the incident with Minmei at the mall. At the end of Rick's story, he said to her as she lay between his legs on the the couch with her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her, "I realized that I had changed so much in the last couple of years Lisa, that those old dreams and fantasies of Minmei were just that, fanciful dreams. Living with her and seeing what she she had become was an eye opener for me and I realized that there was only one person for me and that's you Lisa. You've stayed by my side through it all and helped me grow into someone that I can be proud of and I hope you're proud of me too. And I want to do the same for you Lisa. I want to be by your side and make sure that all your dreams come true too. I love you Lisa, and I love this life we are starting to build together." Lisa responded by hugging Rick even tighter and giving him a soft kiss on the lips. "I love you too, Rick. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for you to wake up and see me. I love you Rick, I always have and I always will!" Heart bursting with emotions, Rick couldn't help but to tear up and kiss Lisa back. Both eager to show their love for one another and their commitment to one another, soon found themselves spending the rest of the day in each others warm and loving embrace.

* * *

Rick hummed as he put breakfast together. Lisa was in the other room talking to Jack where she had given her friend an earful about his insensitive and cruel comments to Rick. Jack apologized for interfering in her relationship and tried to justify his actions. "Look Lisa, I'm not proud of what I said to him, but I couldn't stand to watch you get hurt. I may have taken it too far by saying those things but what he actually put you through was so much worse. I'm glad that you two worked it out but you warn him if he screws up in any way and hurts you, it won't be words that are going to make him hurt." Lisa understanding where Jack was coming from, wondered what lengths she would go to if someone hurt on of her dearest friends and while it didn't make it right, she could see Jack's point. Jack sensing that Lisa got his point said with an irritable sigh, "Tell you what, when I see him next, I'll apologize ok?" Lisa thanked Jack and they chatted for a few more minutes before getting off the phone. Lisa wandered into the kitchen to find Rick looking at his tablet while the bacon started to smolder on the stove.

"Rick, the bacon!"

Rick coming out of his stupor, quickly pulled the bacon off the stove while Lisa started to set the table. She didn't notice until Rick right behind her and she was startled when he said, "When were you going to tell me about this?" Lisa, not knowing what he meant, looked at the tablet he had in his hand. On the entertainment news article page was a picture of Lisa and Minmei talking at the mall yesterday.

The Truth Behind Minmei's Heartbreak

Could the truth between Minmei and Captain Hunter's Valentine's Day separation be finally out? Sources have confirmed that Major Lisa Hayes (seen here) and her baby bump is the reason for the short lived romance between Captain Hunter and Minmei and that Captain Hunter chose the lovely Major and his unborn child over the very tempting Miss Macross. While we give him kudos for making the responsible choice, we wonder if Miss Minmei won't try to win him back. Apparently she had no issues with approaching the Major while she was shopping for the baby and witnesses say that the conversation between the two was short and very tense and that neither woman looked happy. Those close to Minmei say that she was devastated by the revelations of the Major and Captain's relationship and has been in the studios working on some new songs about her heartbreak and that the writing has been cathartic in helping her cope through this difficult time.

Lisa finished reading the blurb underneath the photo and had to admit the photo was not flattering to either the woman. It was taken just as Lisa had pushed Minmei's hands from her and it did look like they were arguing. Lisa sighed and said to Rick, "It's nothing I couldn't handle, Rick." Rick ran his hand through his messy black hair. "It's not about you not being able to handle it Lisa, I know you can, because you are truly one of the most amazing women I have ever met. It's about us sharing and opening up to one another. I know seeing Minmei may have bothered you a bit and I don't want you to hide that from me." Rick took the tablet from her hand and placed it on the table and held Lisa's hands in his. He said softly to her, "I'm sorry if she said anything to upset you, I hope you know that even without the baby I would have chose you." Lisa hugged Rick tightly, finally letting go when her stomach let out a loud growl which broke the tension. Rick and Lisa both laughed and Rick sat Lisa down, "Sounds like he's hungry, come on let's eat."


	26. Chapter 26

Rick loaded up the tandem VF-1 with their luggage and made the final checks to the aircraft. He was lucky that he was able to request the tandem for their trip and was eager to get started. He looked over to where Lisa was chatting with Claudia and Miriya and smiled at how funny Lisa looked in her modified flight suit with her pregnant belly. She had gotten much bigger in the last couple of weeks and it looked like Lisa was carrying a large basketball in front of her. She was mostly all belly except for a few other areas that had gotten a bit larger from her pregnancy. Completing the final checks on the plane, he walked over to the women and gave Lisa a kiss on the cheek and said, "C'mon, we got to get going if we want to get there by lunch." Rick and Lisa said their goodbyes to Claudia and Miriya and Rick helped Lisa into the back of the VF-1 and settled her in comfortably before getting in himself. He had asked Lisa if she wanted to take a shuttle instead, but Lisa had suggested the VF-1 since it was faster than the shuttle and anything that they wanted to bring back with them would be transported back on a separate delivery flight. Rick requested and received take-off instructions from the bridge and the two took off into the clear blue sky. It had been a long time since Rick and Lisa flown together and the two had a great time flying over the recovering earth and seeing all the changes that have taken place in the last two years. They flew northeast towards Lisa's childhood home where she had lived until she started attending boarding school at 14 and the Academy at 16. As they got closer to her home, Lisa started to share details about her early childhood life and Rick realized that he had spent so much time being so caught up with Minmei, that in all the time he had known Lisa, he never really asked Lisa much about her past and childhood while she knew so much about his. Rick, interested in the stories she shared, decided to use this trip to learn more about the woman he had fallen in love with. "I can't wait to see where you grew up Lisa, I hope you will show me all your favorite places." Lisa enthused with her visit home said, "You'll love it Rick, the area is so beautiful, you will never want to leave." Lisa who had been looking out her window to see cried out when she saw a familiar landmark. "Look, Rick, we're almost there, it's just over that mountaintop!" Rick following the instruments and Lisa's visual instructions, soared over the mountaintop and found himself in a beautiful valley where towns and homes seem to have escaped most of Dolza's attack. As he approached the Hayes property, he was contacted by the air controller in the area who verified Lisa's authorization code and said, "Welcome home Miss Hayes, everyone is very excited to have you back." Lisa thanked him and Rick following landing instructions, found the runway and gently landed the plane and taxied to the hangar. As Rick shut down the plane and opened the canopy to help Lisa out, a black BMW sedan pulled up next to the Veritech. Lisa smiled when she saw the car, it had been her father's car, that he loved to drive through the winding roads of the mountains. An older gentleman stepped out the car and as Lisa touched ground, he came forward to give her a hug. "Miss, it's good to have you back. Dottie can't wait to see you. She wanted to come out, but I thought it would be better if she waited til you got to the house. " Lisa smiled and nodded and then introduced Rick to Mr. Henry Reynolds. "Henry and Dottie have been here at Longbourne since I've been a little girl. They've taken care of the property since Father traveled so much and after Mother got sick, she wasn't able to do as much. They helped raise me too until I went to boarding school." Lisa and Henry chatted on about changes on the estate and some things that he needed her to look into and approve. As they drove towards the house, Rick was surprised by the size of the property and all that it encompassed. Lisa explained that the family had settled in the area in the 1870's and named after one of the estates that her ancestors had in England, called Longbourne and that they were one of the major landowners in the area. Henry explained further, "the land sat fallow for many years, no one was farming anymore, not out here at least. We kept a few horses and livestock but not much else and with the family gone so much, it was pretty much only the house and the immediate grounds that were groomed and maintained." Lisa picked up from there. "After the Rain, when I got the chance to come back and visit, Henry had the idea to start farming again, help the land recover and to help those in need. It took a while but with a little help from Dr. Lang, we were able to grow a variety of crops out here. Most of it is sold at the farmer's market to supplement the food stores that are still provided by the UEG." Rick was amazed. He never knew that Lisa had the burden of running a large estate as well as her many duties. "Henry does most of it, Rick, there are only a few things that he ever needs me to sign off on."

The car slowed and made a right turn onto a paved road and about a mile down, a large gate came into view and it slowly opened with a click of a button from the car. Lisa took Rick's hand in hers, excited to have him come with her to her family home and share it with him. Rick felt overwhelmed. He had known Lisa had grown up well to do, but she never flaunted or alluded to any of her family's wealth. Rick had already been intimidated at the fact that her father had been an Admiral and wondered what it was that a former circus pilot could offer someone like her. Henry pulled into the circular driveway and Rick got out of the car taking a good look at the Georgian style house. Henry was pulling their luggage out from the trunk and Rick went to help him. The front door flew open and a middle aged woman came running down the stairs and enveloped Lisa in her arms. Henry took the time that his wife Dottie was fussing over Lisa to say to him, "She's not too happy to have her baby coming home pregnant and not married. She's a bit old fashioned that way. We couldn't have children of our own and after Lisa's mother died, we pretty much treated her like our own. It tore Dottie's heart in two when Donald insisted that Lisa go to that finishing school and then when she went on to the Academy. Lisa only came back for summers and sometimes for Christmas unless she spent it with Donald wherever he was stationed. We could tell from the last time she visited that Lisa had feelings for you and well, Lisa told Dottie about what happened between you two, so don't take offense at anything she might say to you." Rick thanked Henry for the warning and carried the bags over to where Lisa was standing and talking animatedly with the Mrs. Reynolds.

She smiled as Rick approached them and said, "Rick, this is Henry's wife Dottie, she takes care of the house and the staff at Longbourne. Dottie this is Rick Hunter." Dottie just smiled at Rick and said, "Welcome to Longbourne, Captain Hunter, I do hope you enjoy your stay here. Please let me or any of the staff know if you need anything." Turning to Lisa, she put a comforting arm around her and said, "Come along dear, come inside and rest. I made those fruit tarts you like so much" Lisa being led into the house by the Mrs. Reynolds turned to Rick and mouthed, "I'm sorry." Rick didn't mind, he was happy that Lisa was so well loved and knew that they had little reason to trust him yet, but Rick was determined to gain the respect of Lisa's family. As he entered the house, Rick was amazed at the beautiful foyer with white and gray marble flooring and the elegant duel staircases that curved up on both sides of the entrance and met at the landing at top of the stairs. It was up these stairs that Dottie led them and down the right wing of the house to where the family rooms were. Rick passed a cozy family room and a couple of bedrooms and bathrooms when Mrs. Reynolds opened the double doors and the end of the hall to show Lisa the changes that were made to the master bedroom. The large spacious room was painted a pale gray and the large king bed in the middle of the room was covered in lilac and white coverings and pillows. A small beige couch sat at the foot of the bed where the same lilac and gray color scheme was used in the throw pillows. The room also had two comfortable sitting chairs and a large screen TV. Rick looked at the room at awe, it looked like a fancy hotel room. His thoughts were interrupted when Mrs. Reynolds said, "Lisa, dear, why don't you wash up and change and I will show Captain Hunter to his room." He couldn't help himself and blurted out a, "what?", he had been looking forward to this little vacation with Lisa and didn't expect to be separated from her. Lisa taking control of the situation said, "Dottie, I think Rick would be more comfortable staying with me.". Mrs. Reynolds just gave Rick a cold eye and said warmly to Lisa, "If that's what you want dear, I'll have Henry bring the bags up here. Why don't you two change and I'll have lunch ready on the patio in 20 minutes."

Lisa thanked Mrs. Reynolds and closed the bedroom door after she left Trying not to laugh at the situation and the look on Rick's face, Lisa said, "I'm sorry, Rick, she's been like a mother to me and well as you can tell, a bit over protective." Putting her arms around Rick's neck she snuggled him and said comfortingly, "I'm sure she'll come around." Rick didn't say anything, he just cuddled Lisa back and pulled her down on the settee in the room. Running his hand over her belly and rubbing her back, he said, "I'm lucky to have you Lisa, after seeing this place though, I feel bad, I don't think that I could ever give you anything like this. Are you sure you will be happy with someone like me?"

"Rick, what are you talking about, you are truly one of the best men that I have ever known. I'm proud to be with you and consider myself lucky that you want to be with someone like me. I'll admit sometimes I'm not the easiest person to get along with, but I think that you've helped me not keep myself so distant, so locked away from not getting hurt and that being with you has been the best thing that could have ever happened to me." Lisa leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. "Rick, you don't know it but you have given me so much, and this," as she slowly rubbed her belly, "is the best gift you could have ever given me." Lost in one another, they were content to hold each other a little longer before changing to head downstairs.

After lunch, Lisa showed Rick around the rest of the house and they took a little electric cart around to see the different areas of the estate. Lisa reiterated that the Hayes wealth was built up was a culmination of advantageous society weddings and good land and business management by the owners, but the focus now was on sustainable farming techniques and providing for those that live in the valley. He could hear the pride in her voice when she spoke of the family and their accomplishments and said to him, "and this little guy, he's going to be heir to it all." Seeing the panic in Rick's eyes, she said, "Don't worry, we just need to make sure we have the right people in place to take care of this place for us. While I love Longbourne, it's not meant for me to stay but I have a duty to ensure the safety and well being of this valley." They spent the remainder of the day exploring Lisa's old haunts and had a wonderful dinner with the Reynolds that night, where Dottie seemed to soften up towards Rick after watching him care and attend to Lisa's needs throughout the day. Before he went up to bed for the night, he whispered something to Mrs. Reynolds that made her smile and she nodded to him and said, "I'll have everything ready, Captain."

* * *

Lisa woke up alone in the large bed and looked at the clock. Oh my, she thought, ten o'clock already? Lisa hadn't slept that late in a long time and she enjoyed not having to rush out of bed. She wondered where Rick was but didn't have long to wait until the door quietly opened and Rick peeked in to see her sitting up in bed. "Morning, beautiful, I thought you would never wake up," he said to her giving her a morning kiss on the cheek. She snuggled deeper into the pillows and Rick laughed, "Oh no, it's time for you to get up."

"Ok, ok," Lisa said laughingly, "I'll get up, what were you doing all morning?" As Lisa got up and got ready for the day, Rick filled her in on his morning and told Lisa that he went with Henry while he was taking care of some estate business and the discussions they had about the property and areas that still need to be cultivated. "This place is great Lisa, I can see why you love it so much and it feels so nice to be out of the city." Lisa couldn't have agreed more and couldn't wait to show Rick more of the property. As they headed downstairs, they found Mrs. Reynolds ready with a picnic basket and Rick hurried Lisa outdoors and into one of the little electric golf courts. "Where are you taking me Rick?"

"You'll see Lisa, I found the perfect spot." The two drove to the western edge of the property where Rick led Lisa into a meadow surrounded by trees. The day was hot and the trees provided shade for the meadow making it a cool and comfortable spot to rest in. Rick laid a thick plaid blanket under a shady tree and helped Lisa recline on some cushions that he had brought. Assured of her comfort, he opened the picnic basket to provide Lisa something for breakfast. As they ate the ham and cheese quiche and hand pies that Mrs. Reynolds packed, the two shared the food and fruit with one another, along with kisses and other endearments. Rick pulled out a camera to capture their perfect day. He wanted to have some tangible evidence of their happiness and be able to remember this day for themselves and for the baby. He had so many regrets about not being there for the majority of her pregnancy and wanted to rectify that as best he could. Rick took some individual shots of Lisa in the meadow, looking beautiful in a white peasant top and blue shorts, holding her baby belly and smiling with so much love at him. After a few shots, Lisa called out to Rick and said, "Rick, I'd like some photos of us if you can." Grabbing his tripod from his backpack he set the camera up and setting up the self-timer, Rick hurried to take his place next to Lisa and the photos from that day captured the intense love that the two shared. The beautiful colors of the valley and the wild flowers that grew around them, gave wonderful color to the photos but it was the subjects that captured the attention of everyone who saw the photos. The first was one of Rick and Lisa sitting next to one another, with his arm around her sheltering her as Lisa leaned into him with her hand resting on her belly. The second photo was one of Lisa and Rick looking at one another lovingly and Rick resting his hand on Lisa's growing bump and finally one where Lisa was reaching up to kiss Rick, her hand cupping the lower part of his face and Rick holding Lisa closely to him. After seeing the photos on the camera Rick vowed to take more photos of Lisa and of them and kissing her on the nose, he said, "I can't believe that I used to think you an ole sourpuss."

"I'll admit Rick, I was an ole sourpuss. After Karl died, I neglected everything except for work and honestly just didn't think I had much more to live for. It wasn't until this obnoxious, amateur pilot came into my life that woke me from that stupor." Lisa paused and took Rick's hand, "I'll admit it was a rough journey and there were times I just wanted to give up but being with you, here and now, and expecting this baby with you, well it's everything I could have dreamed of Rick!." Rick pulled Lisa into his lap and said, "I'm glad you didn't give up and I'm sorry I was such a knucklehead when it came to you. I never imagined that my commanding officer, my best friend could love me like you do. You've always been there for me Lisa, supported me and propped me up when I was down and I want you to know that I love you with all my heart."

The two stayed in the meadow for the majority of the day, happy to be free to talk, laugh and play with one another, forgetting all the work that they left behind in New Macross.


	27. Chapter 27

Note: Thank you everyone for the continued feedback and reviews. I love the reviews, good and bad. I'll do better with my editing and spacing for remaining chapters! A mid-week update that isn't really necessary to the storyline but more to indulge myself.

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The two stayed in the meadow until the early afternoon and made their way back to the house to start looking at some of the items that Lisa wanted to take back with them. After refreshing themselves in the master suite, Lisa led Rick to a door in the room that he assumed led to a closet.

Opening the door, Lisa led him into the room which turned out to be a nursery, with a round crib, changing table and glider all in a dark espresso color. Stunned he looked around the room and at all the furniture and said, "Where did this all come from?"

"It was all in one of the storage units, Henry and some of them men cleaned and refinished the furniture. It was mine when I was a baby." Rick examined the crib and said confused, "It's round." Shaking it a bit he said, "Is it safe?"

Lisa laughed, "Yes, Henry checked it out quite thoroughly and these round cribs didn't have drop sides which apparently my Mother liked."

Placing her hand on his arm Lisa said, "I'd like to use this furniture if it's okay with you Rick, it'd be nice to have something my mother chose for me." Rick could see the unshed tears in Lisa's bright green eyes and agreed to her request.

He wondered out loud how they'd get it all back to New Macross and Lisa gave him an uncomfortable look. "Um, well that's kinda all ready taken care of Rick."

"What do you mean Lisa,?"

"Please don't get too mad, Rick, but Jack had made the arrangements for the delivery a while ago and his company is going to pick it up the furniture in a day or so...I know I should have told you sooner but he insisted on still doing it even after I told him about knowing what he said to you."

Rick didn't answer Lisa at first. Even thought he was upset, it wasn't worth fighting about it with Lisa and he could see how much Lisa wanted some things from home for their baby.

Shaking his head at her, he said "I'm going to let it go this time Lisa, but please next time, talk to me about anything Jack offers you before accepting."

Hugging him, Lisa smiled and dragged him around the room to show him some of the other items she wanted to take with her. A few handmade knitted caps of the softest yarn and a long snowy white christening gown with handmade lace that had been in the family for a very long time.

From there Lisa showed Rick her childhood room which didn't have much in it anymore. A full size white bed with a yellow striped canopy and white vanity and bookshelf held the remainders of Lisa's childhood which opened a flood of memories and stories from Lisa that Rick loved to hear.

The two traded stories from their childhood and teenage years until Mrs. Reynolds showed up ask Lisa's opinion on a purchase they were making for the kitchen. Rick continued to peruse the books on Lisa's bookshelf and came across a photo album on the bottom shelf.

Curious, he pulled it out and opened it hoping to be able to find some incriminating childhood photos of her that he could blackmail her with. Instead he found a very elegant photo album that was not of Lisa's childhood but held photos of her and Karl, with some taken on the very property that they were on now. Rick flipped thought the photos, seeing Lisa looking so young and so in love with another man, made Rick feel a jealousy that he had never felt before.

He knew it was unreasonable to feel the way that he did, but seeing them together in these photos made him wonder if Lisa could love him as much as she loved Karl. Not liking where his thoughts were going, Rick put the album back on the shelf and hid it under a few more books. No reason for Lisa to be able to easily find it, he thought.

Rick looked around a little more and opened the drawers on Lisa's dresser, curious as to what else he might find. In one of the drawers he found a small robin blue box that grabbed his attention and realizing what it must be, he picked it up and opened it to find a very pretty Tiffany solitaire diamond ring.

Too plain, he thought to himself, I'll need to get her something better than this. Rick jolted himself out of his thoughts and closed the box and replaced it where he found it. Marriage? To Lisa? Rick couldn't believe where his thoughts were taking him, but the more he thought about it the more Rick realized how right it sounded. He didn't want anything to separate them again and realized that after being alone for so long that forming a real family with Lisa was something he wanted more than anything in the world.

Lisa found Rick smiling to himself when she returned and he kissed her passionately. As he let her go, Lisa wondered what caused Rick to behave the way he did and said, "Hmm, maybe I should leave you alone more often if that's the reception I am going to get when I get back." Rick just laughed and the two left to head downstairs for dinner.

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The next two days passed in a blur, Lisa had quite a lot of estate work to catch up on and Rick appreciated that she asked for his opinion on certain matters even though this was an area where he had little knowledge about. They also spent some time in the nearby town, visiting the shops and the people that Lisa knew from her childhood and they even had dinner out at the local hotel.

The nursery furniture was packed up and ready to be shipped out and Lisa and Rick spent the remaining time walking around the estate or lounging by the pool enjoying the first time off they'd had in a long time. They were sitting at the pool enjoying their lunch when Mrs. Reynolds came out. "Lisa dear, I just heard that the Bingley's car just pulled up through the gate. I think you better be prepared to receive them."

Rick heard Lisa give a small groan as she sighed and tossed her napkin onto the table. Rick hurried to help her out of her chair and said, "What's a Bingley?"

Lisa just rolled her eyes and said, "You'll see."

They had just settled into the living room to greet her guests when the door opened and a well dressed, tall brunette sailed in followed by a slightly older man with reddish hair. "Liz, darling, why didn't you tell us you were back."

Lisa stood and said, "Hello Caroline.. Charles" and allowed Caroline to give her two air kisses on both cheeks.

Caroline continued on, "It's really so good to see you it's been so dreadfully boring here this summer. Nothing has been the same since that awful attack."

Taking a closer look at Lisa she said, "I couldn't believe the rumors were true about you, pregnant, not married... well no matter, it's not like you don't have the means to take care of it yourself."

Caroline looking around the room and taking in the changes that had been made to the room since she had last been in there, finally noticed Rick standing near the couch and said to Lisa, "And who is this? Please introduce us."

Lisa just smiled, she knew it wouldn't take long for Caroline to notice Rick. She never missed anything male. "Caroline, this is Captain Rick Hunter. Rick, this is Caroline and Charles Bingley. They live at Netherfield Manor which I pointed out to you when we were driving into town."

Charles bounded forward eager to meet Rick and shook his hand eagerly, "So nice to meet you Captain Hunter, I've read all about your exploits during the last couple of years. You are an amazing pilot. I would have liked to join the RDF but Caroline and Mother wouldn't hear of it."

Caroline, annoyed at her brother as this was a topic many times discussed, "Charles, dear, you know nothing about flying and we needed you here at home. Mother would have been lost without your guidance in business matters."

Ignoring Charles and Lisa, Caroline introduced herself to Rick with a purr in her voice, "Captain Hunter, it is an honor to meet you, we are so fortunate to have such men like you protecting us against those Zentraedi rebels. I hope to learn much, much more about you."

Lisa couldn't help but hide her laughter at Caroline's blatant flattery and Rick's confused face. Caroline literally latched herself onto Rick's arm and led him back to the couch to sit. Charles just pursed his lips and said quietly to Lisa, "Forgive us for coming unannounced Lizzie, when she heard that you had come back for a visit and with a pilot, I couldn't keep her away. It's good to see you though, you look wonderful and congratulations on the baby." Lisa thanked Charles for his good wishes and the two joined Caroline and Rick in the sitting area.

Lisa could see that Rick was uncomfortable with Caroline and her questions, and was about to take a seat next to the couch, when Rick got up and insisted that she sit on the couch as it was more comfortable and fussed over her and gave her a pillow for her back before settling into the chair himself. Caroline watched all this in amusement and said, "Why Liz, I think I see why you joined the forces, if this is the type of treatment you receive. It must be your rank, you made Captain, last I heard?"

Without waiting for a response, she turned to Rick, "You must tell us how our little Liz is when she's away from us. She was quite the quiet little thing growing up, I can't imagine her as a leader in the defense forces."

Rick taken offense by Caroline manners and attacks on Lisa, replied hotly stressing Lisa's rank, "Major Hayes is one of the best military and tactical air strategists we have and we were damn lucky to have her on the SDF-1 to help us make it home. She's risked her life so many times already and I am constantly amazed at her strength and resiliency. All of us pilots and everyone on base knows and appreciates Lisa for the incredibly hard work and dedication that she gives to her work and for the people on this planet."

Caroline, taken a back by Rick's response, replied lightly, "Well I can see she has an admirer in you, Captain Hunter."

Rick decided to take that time to make things clear to Caroline. Moving over from the chair to the couch, Rick took one of Lisa's hand in his own and placing his other hand on her swollen belly he said, "Lisa doesn't just have my admiration, she has my love too."

Lisa squeezed Rick's hand in acknowledgment of what he just said and smiled up at him lovingly.

Flustered by the turn of events, Caroline replied faintly "Oh, well, I see how things are, congratulations to the two of you then."

Mrs. Reynolds came in at that time with some cold drinks and snacks and Lisa broke the tension in the room by serving the drinks and asking Charles and Caroline what other news that they had about others Lisa knew in the community. After the initial discomforting conversation with Caroline, the conversation improved as Charles's fun loving, good nature took over and made up for Caroline's earlier rude remarks and criticisms that she had directed towards Lisa. Charles and Caroline took their leave after two hours, and as they watched them drive away, Rick turned to Lisa and said, "How are you two even friends?"

Lisa just laughed, used to Caroline's attacks on her. "Actually I have to thank Caroline, as children she was ok, but as we started to get older, she became more aware of their wealth and the privileges that it gave her. Instead of using her influence for good causes or change, she cultivated friends that would either follow along with her wishes and she fell into a hard core partying group even though there was a war going on. Unfortunately, her wealth didn't automatically buy her acceptance into some of the high society events and even thought I didn't care about them, she did and would constantly make snide remarks about me. Most didn't pay her any attention, but she helped me develop what you call my "Ice Queen" persona."

Lisa continued as Rick seemed interested in hearing about Caroline's bitterness.

"I learned to ignore her negativity and not let it get to me. Let me tell you that annoyed her too, she hated that she couldn't get a rise out of me, but that early training by her, made me much easier for me to ignore negative comments and gossip about me during my years at the Academy and my first couple of years in service. Most people assumed that because of my father I received preferential treatment, but I hope that was never the case. He wanted me to make it on my own and not rely on the Hayes name."

Lisa smiled sadly as she talked about her father, but quickly recovered and continued her story.

"Charles was always a nice guy though, he tried to reign Caroline in, but he couldn't, and her parents allowed her to be spoiled in that way. Caroline even tried at one point to get Charles and I together. I think she thought that if Charles could get access to those high society events with me, than it would be easier for her to get an acceptance. She never realized it was her attitude that kept her out, not the name. Her and I are the same age and it's sad that she doesn't want to accept that things have changed in the last two years and is still clinging to those old ways of life."

Rick was silent, thinking how Lisa seemed to have so much yet had so many personal hardships over the many years. He hoped that with his love, Lisa's life would be filled with more love and laughter that will lessen the pains of the past. Rick hugged her from behind and Lisa leaned into him. Lisa was happier than she had been in a long, long time and turned to thank Rick.

Hugging him in return, she said lightly, "Who knows, if I never met you, I might have found myself like Caroline."

Shuddering a bit to think of Lisa behaving like Caroline was too much for him to handle. Rick just shook his head, "No, you would never have been so selfish, I don't know how you are able to give so much of yourself and I definitely don't know how I got to be the lucky guy to have won your love."

Smiling and leading him back into the house, Lisa led Rick towards the stairs, "I'd like to take a nap before dinner, would you like to join me?" Rick grinned, hoping Lisa meant what he thought she meant and let her lead him to their bedroom.


End file.
